Executive summary. -- Recommendations. -- The rise of economic coercion. -- China's managed anger. -- The global reach of US coercion. -- The effectiveness of economic coercion. -- Australia's priorities amid economic conflict. -- Notes. -- Acronyms and abbreviations
Summary
This report argues that the growing use of economic coercion by both China and the United States is an emerging risk for business and undermines the world trading system. The report traces the growing use of trade as an economic weapon, particularly over the last three years as the global trade environment has become increasingly fractious amid rising protectionism. The World Trade Organisation has successfully been used in the past to push back against economic coercion and the report argues the Australian government should be ready to use the disputes mechanism of the World Trade Organisation to tackle Chinese trade barriers. Multilateral forums, including APEC, the G20, the OECD and the WTO should recognise the growing threat which economic coercion represents to the freedom of commerce
