Skip to main content
The Interpreter

Interpreter - Menu Links

  • Articles
  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • About

Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 17 Mar 2023
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australian Navy
    • Defence & Security

    The limits on Australia’s submarine industry

    John Edwards
    Long before the last boat is delivered, the business will be winding down.
  • 2 Feb 2023
    • China
    • Vietnam
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • IMF
    • Trade

    Economic diplomacy: Diversification is hard to do

    Greg Earl
    Treasurer Jim Chalmers should rise above outdated jibes at the IMF to justify his aims for a new values-based economy.
  • 8 Sep 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Migration
    • Pacific Islands

    Economic diplomacy: Nation building at home and abroad

    Greg Earl
    A jobs summit highlighted the challenges in crafting a foreign policy for the middle class and balanced development aid.
  • 23 Aug 2022
    • Asia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia's Trade

    Asia skills critical to Australia’s economic future and security

    Leigh Howard
    Regional expertise needs to extend well beyond base literacy and towards a more Asia-capable workforce.
  • 11 Aug 2022
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Defence & Security
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    Economic diplomacy: No free lunches for national security

    Greg Earl
    New foreign investment rules, nuisance tariffs and supply chains are all under scrutiny by the Productivity Commission.
  • 9 May 2022
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • European Union
    • United Kingdom
    • France

    The time is right for Australia to forge stronger ties with Europe

    Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo
    A new world has created new opportunities in energy, security and diplomacy that Canberra should grab without delay.
  • 20 Apr 2022
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • Asean
    • Australia and Asia

    Strategic divergence: Australia’s Southeast Asia challenge

    Susannah Patton
    Australia’s next government needs to find ways to relate to the region that don’t depend on geopolitical alignment.
  • 10 Feb 2022
    • Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia

    Economic diplomacy: Mission critical as Australia’s own BRI gains pace

    Greg Earl
    Australia’s new embrace of South Korea in minerals, defence, and trade is well-timed as the country catches up to Japan.
  • 27 Jan 2022
    • Australia's Economy
    • IMF
    • Papua New Guinea

    Bitcoin vs the IMF, and other great expectations

    Greg Earl
    A roundup of recent economic events foreshadows a year of flux and reinvention, from Europe to the Pacific.
  • 28 Dec 2021
    • China's Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China

    China’s economic punishment – Best of The Interpreter 2021

    The Interpreter
    Beijing sought to make Australia pay as a diplomatic freeze deepened. But the sanction didn’t entirely go to plan.
  • 21 Dec 2021
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia

    Economic diplomacy: Retro shopping beats the supply chain crisis

    Greg Earl
    WWW Santa beware. The gift trade is still subject to the old-school padded tromp of shoe leather.
  • 30 Nov 2021
    • Australia's Economy
    • Global Economic Governance
    • Foreign Investment in Australia

    Time to step up on global kleptocracy

    Vafa Ghazavi
    Among other vital issues, Australia’s interests rely on the country taking a tough stance on corrupt wealth.
  • 22 Oct 2021
    • Trade
    • China's Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China

    China’s economic sanctions made Australia more confident

    Ye Xue
    Greed hasn’t left Canberra cowering in the face of Beijing’s attempted punishment.
  • 10 Sep 2021
    • Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China

    Candour, at last, on China – but then what?

    Hugh Piper
    Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has made explicit Australia’s challenge. The next step is ensuring business knows the plan.
  • 9 Sep 2021
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China
    • Singapore

    Economic diplomacy: Australia Inc’s new world order

    Greg Earl
    Is “China plus” the answer to fading US global hegemony?
  • 3 Jun 2021
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • China

    Economic diplomacy: Under the doona, Australian investors dump China

    Greg Earl
    Australian investors are pulling out of China just as the country has become the largest recipient of FDI.
  • 20 May 2021
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China

    Economic diplomacy: Budgeting for China and the price that matters

    Greg Earl
    China isn’t mentioned nearly as much in the government’s latest budget papers, but its presence looms throughout.
  • 6 May 2021
    • Global Economy
    • Diplomacy
    • The Trans-Pacific Partnership
    • United States
    • India-Australia Relations
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • China
    • Technology
    • International law

    Economic diplomacy: Patent politics and trade deal twists

    Greg Earl
    President Biden moves to suspend vaccine patents, RCEP ramps up, IA-CEPA gets a lesson and US dollar reserves tank.
  • 12 Apr 2021
    • Global Economy
    • United States
    • International Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • IMF
    • Coronavirus

    Covid recovery, in Australia and the world

    John Edwards
    Drawing from his new Lowy Institute Paper, John Edwards looks at the fallout of the pandemic and where things are going.
  • 9 Apr 2021
    • United States
    • International Economy
    • China-Australia Relations
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australian Diplomacy
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia

    Economic diplomacy: Global tax, education exports and Team Australia

    Greg Earl
    Levelling the field with a global minimum tax, rethinking student fee revenue, and getting APEC back in the room.
  • 8 Apr 2021
    • Trade
    • China-Australia Relations
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China
    • Coronavirus

    The big bark but small bite of China’s trade coercion

    Roland Rajah
    Targeted sanctions on Australian exports have affected billions in trade, but the real damage has been limited.
  • 15 Feb 2021
    • Australia's Economy
    • Sustainability
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Energy

    Australia’s place in a decarbonising world economy

    Roland Rajah
    The economics of climate change are rapidly shifting, and that has opportunity for Australia.
  • 3 Dec 2020
    • Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • IMF
    • WTO
    • Australia
    • China

    As a national champion departs the scene, a China food fight looms

    Greg Earl
    Picking winners? In this case, one sort of export interest seems to have suffered due to support for another.
  • 8 Oct 2020
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Economic diplomacy: Federal budget hits and misses

    Greg Earl
    A slight but surprising rise in aid spending and a rosy take on China are inside the covers of the 2020–21 budget.
  • 24 Sep 2020
    • Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Economic diplomacy: A snapshot of overseas investment trends

    Greg Earl
    New data sheds light on how Australian businesses have (and haven’t) shifted their foreign engagements.
  • 10 Sep 2020
    • Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Trade
    • India's Economy
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Coronavirus

    Economic diplomacy: Borders, barriers and obstacles

    Greg Earl
    Reshoring incentives gather steam, India’s RCEP regrets sink in, and Indonesia’s stimulus spending gets stuck.
  • 1 Sep 2020
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • Coronavirus

    Covid economic recovery a long-term test for Australian leadership

    John Edwards
    Australia faces rising unemployment, increased debt and lower living standards, but the challenges are not insuperable.
  • 27 Aug 2020
    • Global Economy
    • The Asia Pacific's Economies
    • Australia's Economy
    • Coronavirus

    Economic diplomacy: Spilled milk and foreign wages

    Greg Earl
    The government blocks a sale to a Chinese dairy firm, overseas remittances stay afloat, and ministers talk frameworks.
  • 20 Aug 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia

    Australia doesn’t need to choose between guns and butter

    Frank Yuan
    The country’s options in defence, aid and diplomacy are not as financially constrained as might be feared.
  • 13 Aug 2020
    • Global Economy
    • The Asia Pacific's Economies
    • Australia's Economy
    • Asean
    • Coronavirus

    Economic diplomacy: A call to syringes, not arms

    Greg Earl
    Australia looks to navigate a recession, global business faces routine disruptions, and war is cheaper than a pandemic.
  • 30 Jul 2020
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • Coronavirus

    Economic diplomacy: Post-Covid trade, from decoupling to wet markets

    Greg Earl
    Recent parliamentary submissions offer a window into the opportunities and risks when the country re-emerges more fully.
  • 2 Jul 2020
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Coronavirus

    Economic diplomacy: Diversification dilemmas

    Greg Earl
    China, India and Australia are all dealing with the costs and risks of reshoring.
  • 12 Mar 2020
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Coronavirus

    Economic diplomacy: Rising risks and missing links in a pandemic

    Greg Earl
    Covid-19 reveals a need for Australian exports beyond China, security plans for epidemics, and supply-chain smarts.
  • 28 Feb 2020
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia's Trade

    Car manufacturing and Australia: Nothing ventured, nothing gained

    Nicholas Gruen
    What might have been, had Australia had a crack at becoming a strategic hub for niche “world cars”.
  • 24 Sep 2019
    • Australia's Economy
    • Foreign Investment in Australia
    • China

    What’s so strategic about baby-food?

    Stephen Grenville
    China will often want a far larger ownership stake in Australian enterprises than we are comfortable with.
  • 15 Aug 2019
    • Global Economy
    • China's Economy
    • US Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Economic diplomacy: China dependency and a notable departure

    Greg Earl
    Australia seems set to end this year about twice as dependent on China for its two-way trade than on the United States.
  • 11 Apr 2019
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Economic diplomacy: Japan investment gazumps China, plus election on

    Greg Earl
    The investment landscape in Australia is changing as Japan nudges out China just as China again looms in local politics.
  • 14 Feb 2019
    • Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Economic diplomacy: trade ground shifts despite US-China row

    Greg Earl
    Alarm is growing the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism may soon suffer the same credibility loss as its deal-making.
  • 30 Oct 2018
    • Australia's Economy

    The Economist: a change of heart

    Stephen Grenville
    In the face of effusive predictions, don’t break out the champagne. Keep calm and carry on.
  • 16 Mar 2018
    • China's Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Asean

    Australia, Asia, and the “Wealth of Nations”

    Peter McCawley
    A new World Bank report allows stronger judgments about economic issues facing the region.
  • 12 Mar 2018
    • Australia's Economy
    • Foreign Investment in Australia

    No urgency in cutting Australian corporate tax

    John Edwards
    Foreign direct investment in Australia has boomed despite warnings of a sharp loss of international competitiveness.
  • 27 Feb 2018
    • US Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Company tax cuts: America versus Australia

    Stephen Grenville
    Rather than continue a race-to-the-bottom on company tax, a sensible global regime is needed.
  • 21 Feb 2018
    • Institutions
    • Australia's Economy
    • Foreign Investment in Australia

    International vulnerabilities and opportunities for Australia’s universities

    Melissa Conley Tyler
    Universities need to accept their vulnerability to internationalisation in order to prepare students for the future.
  • 19 Jan 2018
    • Global Economy
    • The Trans-Pacific Partnership
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy

    Behind the Australia–Canada ‘wine war’

    Mike Callaghan
    Given Australia's disappointment over Canada's last-minute TPP snub, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo likely had no hesitation in lodging the complaint over wine.
  • 7 Dec 2017
    • Global Economy
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Australia's Economy
    • Indonesia

    The ill-advised rush for Australia to strike a trade deal with Indonesia

    Matthew Busch
    An arbitrary end of year deadline looms, yet comments by Indonesian officials should give Australian negotiators pause.
  • 5 Oct 2017
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia's Economy

    Anti-migration sentiment the chief threat to openness

    John Edwards
    Muslims are certainly a target for Senator Hanson, but I’ve little doubt their integration into Australian society is proceeding in much the same way as past waves of migration.
  • 14 Sep 2017
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy

    Staying competitive in a global economy

    Alan Oxley
    Uncertainty in Australian federal politics has spawned narrowly-focused political interests and an anti-free trade sentiment is also manifest.
  • 21 Aug 2017
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    O Canada! Australia's best hope in the global IP struggle

    Stephen Grenville
    Australia's best hope is that Canada, which shares our position as a major net user of IP, will work hard in the NAFTA negotiations to defend our common interests.
  • 1 Aug 2017
    • Global Economy
    • Australia's Economy

    Is the relationship between growth and inflation shifting?

    John Edwards
    The RBA leadership is clearly thinking about the possibility that the relationship between inflation and output growth may have altered in an enduring way.
  • 20 Apr 2017
    • Australia's Economy

    Economic diplomacy brief: Corporate Australia puts its stamp on foreign policy

    Greg Earl
    Business group submissions for the Foreign Policy White Paper will provide the first big test of the Australian Government's 'economic diplomacy' rhetoric.
Pagination
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • Current page 1
  • Page 2
  • Next page ››

Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world.

Register

The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute

© Copyright 2023 Lowy Institute

  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • Articles
  • About
  • Comments Policy
  • My Bookmarks
  • Terms of Use
  • Site map
  • My Admin
  • Log In