Australian trade policy 1942-1966 : a documentary history

Abstract

This book gives an account of the development of Australian trade policy since World War II and of changes in the international and domestic framework within which it has been conducted. Topics covered include the dramatic growth of Australian trade with Japan and North America, the use of import controls during the fifties, changes in Australian tariff policies and procedures, trade problems posed by the needs of the less developed countries, and the impact on Australia of new international institutions such as GATT, UNCTAD, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and of the emergence of regional blocs such as the European Common Market. The book consists of documents and commentaries. The documents give the content of government trade policies as outlined in statements by Ministers in Hansard, the press, and elsewhere, in parliamentary and other official papers, and in statements by government officials. Some important non-official documents recording comments on policies are also included. The extensive commentaries not only draw attention to significant aspects of the documents but also fill out the story. They reveal gaps in our knowledge in certain areas of trade policy and so point to possible avenues of research for economic historians. The author, a leading Commonwealth public servant during most of the period covered in the book, has a unique, first-hand knowledge of his subject. As Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture, and later of the Department of Trade, he played an influential part in the development of Australia's trade policies both at home and in international councils. Simply and clearly written, this timely book raises issues of serious importance both for Australia and her trading partners overseas. It will be of great value not only to economists and to students, but to businessmen, officials and others concerned with Australian trade and public policy.