Australia to stay tariff-free for Pacific Islands struggling with aid cuts, says foreign minister
Australia is the region's largest aid donor and 'a partner the Pacific can count on', Wong said in Suva on Tuesday, her first international speech since the centre-left Labor government was re-elected in May.
'Forty years of tariff-free access into Australia has helped contribute to the prosperity of the Pacific. And I can promise you today, that will not change,' she said at the headquarters of the Pacific Islands Forum, the region's diplomatic bloc.
Fiji's main exports include bottled water, sugar and fish.
FM Dar tells Australian counterpart Wong Pakistan exercised 'restraint' in India clashes
A transport hub for the aid-reliant region that sits strategically between the United States and Asia, Fiji was previously courted by Washington and Beijing for security ties and infrastructure assistance.
Vanuatu was hit with a 22% U.S. tariff, while Nauru, population 11,000, drew a 30% tariff. Fiji's prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, had raised concerns about the U.S. aid freeze in Washington in February.
'The Pacific is facing growing challenges, from climate change, cuts to global aid and rules under strain,' said Wong, who will also travel to Vanuatu and Tonga this week.
Australia has pledged a record A$2.1 billion ($1.35 billion) in development assistance to the Pacific Islands, she said.
'Recognising the impact of global aid cuts, we have reprioritised our development assistance to dedicate 75 cents of every Australian development dollar to support our region,' she said.
China is the second-largest donor country to the Pacific Islands, and has sought increasing policing ties in the region, which Australia sees as a security threat.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
a few seconds ago
- Business Recorder
Dollar drifts as investors await Fed governor replacement
SINGAPORE: The dollar was rangebound on Wednesday, with investors choosing to stay on the sidelines ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to fill a coming vacancy on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Trump said on Tuesday he will decide on a nominee by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Data out the same day also showed the U.S. services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July even as input costs climbed by the most in nearly three years, underscoring the hit from Trump's tariffs on the economy, which has also begun to bite corporate earnings. Still, those did little to sway the dollar, as traders were hesitant to take on fresh positions ahead of news on who would fill the Fed board vacancy. Concerns are mounting that partisan loyalty would invade the staid world of central bank policy. The dollar was last little changed at 147.54 yen , while the euro ticked up 0.02% to $1.5760. Sterling last bought $1.3304. Moves in currencies overnight had been muted. 'I still think that between now and the end of the week, if Trump is going to make an announcement about who he wants to fill the vacant board seat, depending on… how credible (the markets) view that candidate to be, I think that has the potential to prompt some reaction across everything,' said Ray Attrill, head of FX research at National Australia Bank (NAB). 'For me, that's…potentially the biggest swing factor for the next sort of 48 hours or so.' While moves in the dollar have been more subdued this week, the currency has yet to recover from its steep losses on Friday, when it clocked its largest one-day percentage fall in nearly four months following an alarming jobs report. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last at 98.76 , still some distance away from its peak of 100.25 hit on Friday before the nonfarm payrolls figures. Traders continue to price in an over 90% chance of a Fed cut in September, with about 58 basis points worth of easing expected by the year-end. But data such as Tuesday's services ISM report underscore the fine line the Fed has to tread, as policymakers weigh rising price pressures from Trump's tariffs against signs of a weakening U.S. economy. 'The services ISM has obviously got that kind of stagflationary whiff about it… that's obviously a bit of a two-edged sword in terms of what does that mean for policy,' said NAB's Attrill. 'At the moment, I think we're sort of of the view that maybe there's a bit too much confidence in the market about the certainty of a September move.' In other currencies, the Australian dollar rose 0.15% to $0.6479, while the New Zealand dollar gained 0.23% to $0.5914. New Zealand's jobless rate rose slightly in the second quarter as the labour market remained soft, data on Wednesday showed, supporting the view that the central bank will proceed with a flagged 25 basis-point interest cut at its August policy meeting.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Australia dollar slips on rate burden, kiwi braces for jobs data
SYDNEY: The Australian dollar slipped on Tuesday as soft local data underscored market wagers for a rate cut next week, while the kiwi braced for a jobs report that may highlight the weakness in the economy. Data from ANZ and employment website Indeed showed the Australian job ads fell 1% in July, suggesting the labour market is easing gradually. Household spending rose modestly in June, although spending on services fell for the first month in three. 'Households are still choosing their spending targets wisely, with the selective pattern of spending shows households remain on average budget constrained,' said analysts at Citi in a note to clients. 'To us, this shows that cost of living concerns still matter. Relief should come in the form of a -25bp RBA interest rate cut next Tuesday.' Indeed, swaps now see a quarter point rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia next week is a done deal, after the second quarter inflation data surprised on the low side. The central bank last month passed up the chance to lower rates. The Aussie slipped 0.1% at $0.6460, after easing 0.1% overnight. It is back in the recent trading range of between 64 cents and 66 cents, with the break higher to $0.6625 proving to be a false one. The kiwi dollar was off 0.2% to $0.5894, after slipping 0.2% on Monday. It has support at $0.5850, while resistance is around $0.6050. The two Antipodeans rallied after weak U.S. jobs data on Friday had markets price in a near-certain chance of a cut from the Federal Reserve next month, pummelling the U.S. dollar that had been on an uptrend. However, they both gave ground to the ascending yen, hovering near a four-week low of 95 yen and a seven-week trough of 86.8 yen respectively. It is a quiet week for the Australian dollar with little major economic data on tap, but the kiwi is bracing for uncertainty from Wednesday's quarterly jobs figure. The unemployment rate is likely to show another rise to 5.3%, adding to the case of a cut in rates this month. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is now 85% priced for a 25 basis point cut on August 20, with maybe another move in the bag by early next year.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Japan's Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher; chip-related stocks drag
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Tuesday, supported by Wall Street's strong finish overnight, but losses in chip-related stocks capped gains. The Nikkei rose 0.5% to 40,499.21 as of 0156 GMT. The broader Topix gained 0.68% to 2,936.09. On Monday, all three major U.S. stock indexes logged their steepest daily percentage climb since May 27, as investors sought bargains after Friday's selloff and ramped up bets for a September rate cut following a weaker-than-expected jobs data. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained 3.64% as Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the heavy machinery maker would deliver Australia's new A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) navy frigate programme. Technology investor SoftBank Group rose 2% to lend the strongest boost to the Nikkei. Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) prime market, 76% rose, 19% fell and 3% traded flat. All but four of the TSE's 33 industry sub-indexes advanced. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron lost 1.2% and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest fell 0.25% to weigh on the Nikkei. 'Those shares led the Nikkei's rally last month, but so far they have lost that strong momentum,' Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory, said. Markets were jolted last week when shares of Tokyo Electron plunged to their daily limit low after the firm slashed its profit forecast by a fifth. The yen's slight gain against the U.S. dollar also weighed on sentiment, Yasuda said. The Japanese yen firmed slightly to 146.62 per dollar after minutes of the Bank of Japan's June policy meeting revealed that some board members favoured resuming interest rate hikes if trade frictions ease. A stronger yen typically pressures exporter shares by reducing the value of overseas earnings when converted into Japanese currency.
