Australia's battle against the common agricultural policy: The Fraser Government's trade diplomacy and the European Community

Australian Journal of Politics and History

Volumn 45, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 181-196

  Benvenuti, Andrea ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0033244676     PISSN: 00049522     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8497.00061     Document Type: Article

References (108)

1. Alan Burnett, Australia and the European Communities in the 1980s (Canberra: Australian National University, 1983), p. 221.
2. Joanne Watts, "Win, Lose or Draw: EC-Australia Relations in the Uruguay Round" (Honours diss., Melbourne University, 1993), p. 40.
3. "No more yellers or buffaloes", Financial Review, 10 November 1986, p. 14.
4. Ibid.
5. Alan Renouf, "Australian in P.J. Boyce and J.R. Angel, eds., Independence and Alliance: Australia in World Affairs (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1983), p. 330.
6. Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, p. 218.
7. Ibid.
8. Watts, "Win, Lose or Draw: EC-Australia Relations in the Uruguay Round", p. 40.
9. Alan Renouf, The Frightened Country (South Melbourne: Macmillan, 1979), p. 496.
10. Michael Tracy, Government and Agriculture in Western Europe 1880-1988, 3rd ed., (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989), p. 349.
11. Statement by the Minister for Trade and Industry (J.D. Anthony) in Australia, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debtes, vol. 73, 1971, p. 354, quoted in Nancy Abderson and John Crawford, "Foreign Trade", in Gordon Greenwood and Norman Harper, eds., Australia in World Affairs 1966-70 (Melbourne: Cheshire Publishing, 1974), p. 115.
12. Statement by the Minister for Trade and Industry (J.D. Anthony) in Australia, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debtes, vol. 73, 1971, p. 354, quoted in Nancy Abderson and John Crawford, "Foreign Trade", in Gordon Greenwood and Norman Harper, eds., Australia in World Affairs 1966-70 (Melbourne: Cheshire Publishing, 1974), p. 115.
13. Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policies in the European Community: Their Origins. Nature and Effects on Production and Trade (Canberra: AGPS, 1985), p. 332.
14. Ibid., p. 334.
15. J.D.B, Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", in Boyce and Angel, eds., Independence and Alliance: Australia in World Affairs 1976-80, p. 164. See also "The odd man out: a survey of Australia", Economist, 4 September 1992, p. xiv.
16. J.D.B, Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", in Boyce and Angel, eds., Independence and Alliance: Australia in World Affairs 1976-80, p. 164. See also "The odd man out: a survey of Australia", Economist, 4 September 1992, p. xiv.
17. Renouf, Frightened Country, p. 495.
18. Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, pp. 1-2.
19. Renouf, Frightened Country, p. 495.
20. Australia, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates 1976, vol. 99, p. 2742.
21. In fact, in other fields such as security and foreign policies Australia and the Western European countries shared, by and large, similar views. As the Australian Foreign Affairs Review observed, "strategically, there is a firm, shared interest in the strength and cohesion of the Western chain of alliance. There is also a strongly felt shared interest in the health of democratic institutions ... Australia is continuing to seek ways to broaden its consultation and coordination with the Community on political questions". "Australia and the European Community", Australian Foreign Affairs Review 51, 6 [June 1980], p. 181 and 187.
22. For a detailed analysis of the New Zealand case see Bruce Brown, "'Foreign Policy is Trade': Trade is Foreign Policy", in Ann Trotter, ed:, Fifty Years of New Zealand Foreign Policy Making (Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 1993), pp. 62-83. See also Steve Hoadley The New Zealand Foreign Affairs Handbook (Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1992, 2nd ed), pp. 75-76.
23. For a detailed analysis of the New Zealand case see Bruce Brown, "'Foreign Policy is Trade': Trade is Foreign Policy", in Ann Trotter, ed:, Fifty Years of New Zealand Foreign Policy Making (Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 1993), pp. 62-83. See also Steve Hoadley The New Zealand Foreign Affairs Handbook (Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1992, 2nd ed), pp. 75-76.
24. Alan Renouf, Malcolm Fraser and Australian Foreign Policy (Sydney: Australian Professional Publications, 1986), p. 162.
25. Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser. A Biography (Melbourne: William Heinemann, 1987), pp. 342-343. See also "Decision soon on Uranium: Fraser", Australian, 31 May 1977, p. 1; "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", Australian, 4 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser gets a foot in the EEC door", Australian, 20 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser hints at trade-off for uranium", Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter SMH], 22 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser pressing EEC to buy", Canberra Times [hereafter CT], 21 June 1977, p. 21.
26. Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser. A Biography (Melbourne: William Heinemann, 1987), pp. 342-343. See also "Decision soon on Uranium: Fraser", Australian, 31 May 1977, p. 1; "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", Australian, 4 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser gets a foot in the EEC door", Australian, 20 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser hints at trade-off for uranium", Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter SMH], 22 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser pressing EEC to buy", Canberra Times [hereafter CT], 21 June 1977, p. 21.
27. Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser. A Biography (Melbourne: William Heinemann, 1987), pp. 342-343. See also "Decision soon on Uranium: Fraser", Australian, 31 May 1977, p. 1; "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", Australian, 4 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser gets a foot in the EEC door", Australian, 20 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser hints at trade-off for uranium", Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter SMH], 22 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser pressing EEC to buy", Canberra Times [hereafter CT], 21 June 1977, p. 21.
28. Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser. A Biography (Melbourne: William Heinemann, 1987), pp. 342-343. See also "Decision soon on Uranium: Fraser", Australian, 31 May 1977, p. 1; "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", Australian, 4 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser gets a foot in the EEC door", Australian, 20 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser hints at trade-off for uranium", Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter SMH], 22 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser pressing EEC to buy", Canberra Times [hereafter CT], 21 June 1977, p. 21.
29. Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser. A Biography (Melbourne: William Heinemann, 1987), pp. 342-343. See also "Decision soon on Uranium: Fraser", Australian, 31 May 1977, p. 1; "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", Australian, 4 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser gets a foot in the EEC door", Australian, 20 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser hints at trade-off for uranium", Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter SMH], 22 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser pressing EEC to buy", Canberra Times [hereafter CT], 21 June 1977, p. 21.
30. Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser. A Biography (Melbourne: William Heinemann, 1987), pp. 342-343. See also "Decision soon on Uranium: Fraser", Australian, 31 May 1977, p. 1; "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", Australian, 4 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser gets a foot in the EEC door", Australian, 20 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser hints at trade-off for uranium", Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter SMH], 22 June 1977, p. 2; "Fraser pressing EEC to buy", Canberra Times [hereafter CT], 21 June 1977, p. 21.
31. "Uranium the lever for farm exports", Australian, 1 June 1977, p. 2. See also "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", p. 2.
32. "Uranium the lever for farm exports", Australian, 1 June 1977, p. 2. See also "Labor rebels back Fraser's EEC appeal", p. 2.
33. Schmidt quoted in "West German Chancellor embarrasses Fraser", SMH, 22 June 1977, p. 2.
34. "Fraser acts as EEC orders Australian steel cuts", SMH, 20 June 1977, p. 1.
35. "Shocks from the E.E.C.", CT, 23 June 1977, p. 2.
36. "Steel cutback a shock", CT, 21 June 1977, p. 5.
37. Roy Jenkins, European Diary 1977-1981 (London: Collins, 1989), p. 144. See also Ayres, Malcolm Fraser, pp. 343-344.
38. Roy Jenkins, European Diary 1977-1981 (London: Collins, 1989), p. 144. See also Ayres, Malcolm Fraser, pp. 343-344.
39. It must be noted that the composition of the Council of Ministers varies in accordance with different issues due for discussion. As for agricultural matters, problems are discussed decisions are taken by a Council composed by the Ministers of Agriculture of the EC member states.
40. Department of Foreign Affairs, Statements on Foreign Policy: A Selection of Extracts from Statements by the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and other Ministers from the period March to September 1977 (Canberra: AGPS, 1977), p. 31.
41. Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, p. 112
42. Ibid., p. 113.
43. Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", p. 165. See also "Special trade negotiator; speech to Sydney Chamber of Commerce", Commonwealth Record 4, 27 (9-15 July 1977), pp. 1171-1172.
44. Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", p. 165. See also "Special trade negotiator; speech to Sydney Chamber of Commerce", Commonwealth Record 4, 27 (9-15 July 1977), pp. 1171-1172.
45. European Communities, Eleventh General Report on the Activities of the European Communities (Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1978), p. 551.
46. Jenkins, European Diary, p. 145.
47. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, pp. 162-163.
48. "Boiling over down under", Economist, 17 June 1978, p. 63.
49. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, pp. 162-163.
50. Jenkins, European Diary, p. 272.
51. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, p. 163. See also Renouf, "Australian Diplomacy 1976-80", p. 330.
52. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, p. 163. See also Renouf, "Australian Diplomacy 1976-80", p. 330.
53. "Boiling over down under", p. 63.
54. Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, pp. 125 and 185-187. See also "The European Community and Australia", EC News, Information note 83/2, 10 June 1983, p. 5.
55. Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, pp. 125 and 185-187. See also "The European Community and Australia", EC News, Information note 83/2, 10 June 1983, p. 5.
56. Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", p. 166. See also European Communities, Thirteenth General Report on the Activities of the European Communities (Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1980), p. 551.
57. Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", p. 166. See also European Communities, Thirteenth General Report on the Activities of the European Communities (Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1980), p. 551.
58. Department of Foreign Affairs, Statements on Foreign Policy (1 June 1978-31 May 1979) (Canberra: AGPS, 1979), p. 69.
59. Miller, "Australia and Western Europe", p. 166.
60. Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, p. 125.
61. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, p. 163.
62. According to Tracy the outcomes of the Tokyo Round "did not ... represent a major inroad on agricultural protectionism. The Community in fact considered that a major result of the MTNs was implicit recognition by its trading partners, in particular the US, of the principles and mechanisms of the CAP", see Tracy, Government and Agriculture, p. 350.
63. According to the SMH the Australian Government "believe[d] that these support measures [would] result in the 'dumping' of European lamb and mutton in the Middle East and Asia, despite EEC assurances that the price-support system would not be that significant". "EEC warned of $1 billion trade cuts", SMH, 16 July 1980, p. 2. See also "EEC and Australia: so far, so good", Economist, 27 September 1980, p. 61. In fact, lamb and mutton (as well as potatoes) were products for which support regimes had not been imposed as part of early CAP arrangements, but whose inclusion into the CAP system the EC was now planning.
64. According to the SMH the Australian Government "believe[d] that these support measures [would] result in the 'dumping' of European lamb and mutton in the Middle East and Asia, despite EEC assurances that the price-support system would not be that significant". "EEC warned of $1 billion trade cuts", SMH, 16 July 1980, p. 2. See also "EEC and Australia: so far, so good", Economist, 27 September 1980, p. 61. In fact, lamb and mutton (as well as potatoes) were products for which support regimes had not been imposed as part of early CAP arrangements, but whose inclusion into the CAP system the EC was now planning.
65. "Clamp on is EEC reprisal", SMH, 18 July 1980, p. 1. See also Australia, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, vol. 118, 1980, pp. 1284-1285.
66. "Clamp on is EEC reprisal", SMH, 18 July 1980, p. 1. See also Australia, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, vol. 118, 1980, pp. 1284-1285.
67. "Anthony back with EEC trade gains", SMH, 22 September 1980, p. 3. See also Commission of the European Communities, Bulletin of the European Communities 13, 4 (May 1980), p. 51; "EEC and Australia: so far, so good", p. 61.
68. "Anthony back with EEC trade gains", SMH, 22 September 1980, p. 3. See also Commission of the European Communities, Bulletin of the European Communities 13, 4 (May 1980), p. 51; "EEC and Australia: so far, so good", p. 61.
69. "Anthony back with EEC trade gains", SMH, 22 September 1980, p. 3. See also Commission of the European Communities, Bulletin of the European Communities 13, 4 (May 1980), p. 51; "EEC and Australia: so far, so good", p. 61.
70. Ibid. to Singapore, on his way to Australia, Anthony had declared that unless the EC accepted the Australian request on sheepmeat, Australia would have apply selective trade reprisals. See also "EEC bows to Australian demands", SMH, 2 October 1980, p. 14.
71. Ibid. to Singapore, on his way to Australia, Anthony had declared that unless the EC accepted the Australian request on sheepmeat, Australia would have apply selective trade reprisals. See also "EEC bows to Australian demands", SMH, 2 October 1980, p. 14.
72. "Progress is unlikely, but EEC talks go on", SMH, 2 December 1981, p. 3.
73. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, p. 163. According to Woodland, Australia "entered the 1950s with a half-century history of increased protection of its manufacturing sector ... The basis for the protection policy was provided by the United Kingdom-Australia Trade Agreement of 1932, which firmly established the principle that tariffs would be set to compensate for cost disadvantages suffered by domestic Australian manufacturers relative to their British competitors" see Alan Woodland, "Trade policies in Australia", in Dominick, ed., National Trade Policies: Handbook of Comparative Economic Policies (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1992), 239.
74. Renouf, Fraser and Foreign Policy, p. 163. According to Woodland, Australia "entered the 1950s with a half-century history of increased protection of its manufacturing sector ... The basis for the protection policy was provided by the United Kingdom-Australia Trade Agreement of 1932, which firmly established the principle that tariffs would be set to compensate for cost disadvantages suffered by domestic Australian manufacturers relative to their British competitors" see Alan Woodland, "Trade policies in Australia", in Dominick, ed., National Trade Policies: Handbook of Comparative Economic Policies (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1992), 239.
75. As Burnett has pointed out "the EC, in 1981, complained formally about restrictions imposed by Australia on motor cars, footwear, and clothing, and fork lift trucks", see Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, p. 128. In February 1982 the President European Commission, Gaston Thorn, speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra, declared that "the point (had) often been made that Australian manufacturing [was] the most highly protected of the OECD ... in some areas which were sensitive both for [Australia and the EC] duties could be as high as 150%", Gaston Thorn quoted in Ibid., p. 129.
76. As Burnett has pointed out "the EC, in 1981, complained formally about restrictions imposed by Australia on motor cars, footwear, and clothing, and fork lift trucks", see Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, p. 128. In February 1982 the President European Commission, Gaston Thorn, speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra, declared that "the point (had) often been made that Australian manufacturing [was] the most highly protected of the OECD ... in some areas which were sensitive both for [Australia and the EC] duties could be as high as 150%", Gaston Thorn quoted in Ibid., p. 129.
77. Renouf, Frightened Country, p. 496.
78. Ibid.
79. R.J. Wickes, "Australia, commodities and the Third World", Australian Outlook 35, 2 (August 1981), p. 127.
80. "Progress is unlikely, but EEC talks go on", SMH, 2 December 1981, p. 3. See also Commission of the European Communities, XV General Report on the Activities of the European Communities in 1981 (Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1982), pp. 262-263.
81. "Progress is unlikely, but EEC talks go on", SMH, 2 December 1981, p. 3. See also Commission of the European Communities, XV General Report on the Activities of the European Communities in 1981 (Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1982), pp. 262-263.
82. See also "EEC defers action on trade", SMH, 27 February 1982, p. 7.
83. Ernest Preeg, Traders in a Brave New World: The Uruguay Round and the Future of the Intermtional Trading System (Chicago: The University Press, 1995), pp. 33-35.
84. John Croome, Reshaping the World Trading System: A History of the Uruguay Round (Geneva: World Trade Organisation, 1995), p. 14.
85. Anthony declared: "The EEC virtually folded its hands and said, well as far as the world is concerned we are the world and what we want we are going to get, and if we don't get it then we just walk away". See Douglas Anthony quoted in Burnett, Australia and the European Communities, p. 221.
86. Croome, Reshaping the World Trading System, p. 14.
87. This is, in fact, what happened with the inauguration of the Uruguay Round in which the issue of domestic agricultural policy instruments was for the first time included in the agenda of GATT Negotiations. The Round (1986-94) provided the basis for the establishment of a strong international front determined to urge the EC to negotiate reforms to the CAP.
88. Jenkins, European Diary, p. 145. In relation to Fraser personally, Jenkins wrote that he was an "awkward, aggressive man, who [did] not put his best face forward". Ibid., p. 119.
89. Jenkins, European Diary, p. 145. In relation to Fraser personally, Jenkins wrote that he was an "awkward, aggressive man, who [did] not put his best face forward". Ibid., p. 119.
90. "Boiling over down under", p. 63.
91. Incidentally, it should be pointed out that under the Lomé Convention the EC tolerated imports of sugar from the ACP countries with the of increasing its oversupply of this product.
92. See for instance Australia, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates 1976, vol. 99, p. 3097.
93. A.J.R. Groom, "Europe: a case of collective amnesia", Australian Outlook 43, 1 (April 1989), p. 3.
94. Ibid.
95. As the Economist pointed out in 1977, "the New Zealanders have no ... stick to yield and are relying on persuasion." "Boiling over down under", p. 63.
96. As Brown has noted, "Protocol 18 [was] a lifesaver for New Zealand." Brown, "'Foreign Policy is Trade': Trade is Foreign Policy", pp. 62-83.
97. Hoadley, New Zealand Handbook, p. 75. In 1973 New Zealand exported 168.5 tonnes of butter to the EC market. Fifteen years later, it exported only 55 tonnes. Ibid., p. 76. See also Richard Kennaway and John Henderson, eds., Beyond New Zealand: Foreign Policy into the 1990s (Auckland: Longman Paul, 1991), p. 132.
98. Hoadley, New Zealand Handbook, p. 75. In 1973 New Zealand exported 168.5 tonnes of butter to the EC market. Fifteen years later, it exported only 55 tonnes. Ibid., p. 76. See also Richard Kennaway and John Henderson, eds., Beyond New Zealand: Foreign Policy into the 1990s (Auckland: Longman Paul, 1991), p. 132.
99. Hoadley, New Zealand Handbook, p. 75. In 1973 New Zealand exported 168.5 tonnes of butter to the EC market. Fifteen years later, it exported only 55 tonnes. Ibid., p. 76. See also Richard Kennaway and John Henderson, eds., Beyond New Zealand: Foreign Policy into the 1990s (Auckland: Longman Paul, 1991), p. 132.
100. Hoadley, New Zealand Handbook, p. 75.
101. John McEwen quoted in R.V. Jackson, ed., John McEwen (transcribed tapes) (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1983), p. 61., in Geoffrey Bolton, The Oxford History of Australia: The Middle Way 1942-1995, vol. 5, 2nd ed., (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 91.
102. T.B. Millar, Australia in Peace and War: External Relations since 1778, 2nd ed., (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1991), p. 358. See also Renouf, "Australian Diplomacy 1976-80", p. 330.
103. T.B. Millar, Australia in Peace and War: External Relations since 1778, 2nd ed., (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1991), p. 358. See also Renouf, "Australian Diplomacy 1976-80", p. 330.
104. It must be noted, however, that the deregulation of the Australian economy was never used by the Labor Government as a bilateral bargain chip in its talks with the European authorities.
105. "The European Community and Australia", app. A and B.
106. "New spirit in EC-Australian ministerial talks", EC News 2, 3 (April 1984), pp. 1-2.
107. Andrea Benvenuti, "Australian-European on Agriculture: A Study in Economic Diplomacy 1983-93" (M.A. diss., University, 1997).
108. For a discussion of the implications of the Uruguay Round Final agreement on apiculture, see Ibid, pp. 182-185.