Howes calls for cyber espionage inquiry
Union heavyweight Paul Howes has renewed his attack on China’s trading practices, calling for an inquiry into allegations of cyber espionage.
The AWU national secretary says Australian manufacturers and food producers are being forced to compete on an uneven playing field.
He says China is engaging in “possibly illegal” practices by undervaluing its currency, dumping products onto international markets and even spying on competitors.
“Other countries, most particularly China, have again been flouting their WTO obligations in regards to intellectual property theft and hacking,” Mr Howes said in his keynote address to a national convention of Australian vegetable growers in Hobart.
“China has been accused of using industrial espionage as part of economic policy by stealing company secrets to attack foreign competitors.
“A strong government response to this would involve a full-scale inquiry into allegations of cyber espionage, and lodging a case with the World Trade Organisation.”
Mr Howes has previously criticised the devaluation of the yuan and said on Friday it could be as much as 40 per cent below its market value.
He said that was contributing to an overvaluation of the Australian dollar which was hurting sectors of the economy.
“By refusing to remove to a freely floating currency the Chinese are flouting the world’s rules in order to give themselves a significant trade advantage,” he said.
“China must take its new role as an emerging power in the world seriously and adopt the rules that successfully allowed it to emerge as an economic powerhouse.”
Mr Howes said Australia could only take advantage of the huge growth expected in Asia if it avoided “Dutch disease”, an influx of money into the mining sector alone.
“The danger … is that in the meantime we allow industries such as manufacturing, food and vegetable production to drift,” he said.
“It’s all well and good to talk about becoming the food bowl of Asia but we must take decisive action now to prepare ourselves.”