The Business Council of Australia is Australia’s peak business organisation, representing the chief executive officers of Australia’s largest corporations and investors across every sector of the economy, collectively employing almost ten per cent of all privately employed Australians.
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) welcomes the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed Section 301 tariff measures relating to forced labour.
Australia and the United States have one of the world’s most successful economic partnerships, built on shared values, strategic trust and deeply integrated supply chains. Australia shares the United States’ commitment to eliminating forced labour internationally and in our region. Australian business continues to invest in strong supply chain governance under Australia’s modern slavery regulatory framework.
The proposed tariff measures would not advance the objective of eliminating forced labour when applied to Australian exports. Instead, they would likely increase costs for American manufacturers and consumers, weaken resilient supply chains between allies and reduce economic competitiveness in both countries.
Key recommendations
- Recognise Australia’s modern slavery regulatory framework
- Exclude Australian exports from any final tariff measures
- Should tariff measures be imposed on Australian goods, maintain and expand existing exclusions where duties would not be in the interests of the US economy.