Australia's trade policy aims to promote open markets, enhanced trade liberalisation, less red-tape and increased investment. The Government's objective is to position the economy to be efficient, highly competitive, and focused on capturing opportunities available in our region.

Australia relies on strong and open global trading environment and is strongly committed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its framework of rules. Australia supports growth in the reach and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system by upholding and further liberalising trade rules through the WTO.

Membership in the WTO means that we benefit from its trade rules and we have a process to settle disputes if other trade partners breach these rules.

The WTO operates by consensus. Every member's opinion carries the same weight and all members must agree before a decision can be made. This means that progress can be slow, but once an agreement is reached, all members are obliged to honour it.