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September 14th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda By ENDA CURRAN And ANDREW CRITCHLOW
SYDNEY—Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd warned Wednesday against the world slipping toward protectionist trade policies in response to the European debt crisis and dramatic fluctuations in currency markets that are adding to global uncertainty.
In an exclusive interview before flying to the U.S. for key defense talks, Mr. Rudd said “any economy large or small has to maintain an open international trading system” and not set up artificial tariffs, which had made previous historic downturns like the Great Depression of the 1930s more protracted.
Fears that major industrialized nations and developed economies may turn to protectionist economic policies were stoked when Switzerland placed a floor on the rate of exchange between the franc and the euro in an effort to control funds flowing into the safe-haven nation. Analysts warn that a rise in protectionism may emerge if the global economy takes a turn for the worse, putting greater pressure on the U.S. trade relationship with China.
“Any student of economic history will tell you that it was not the financial crash of 1929 that caused the Great Depression, it was economies turning in on themselves and protecting them with massive tariff walls thereby collapsing global economic growth. We can’t afford to repeat those mistakes now,” Mr. Rudd said.
In the U.S., leading Republicans have put pressure on President Barack Obama’s administration over its record on safeguarding jobs and trade against cheaper Asian competition and specifically tackling the imbalance with China. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the summer accused China of manipulating the value of its currency to make its exports cheaper and imports more expensive, stealing intellectual property and using tariffs to keep U.S. goods out.
Mr. Rudd, who formerly served as Australia’s prime minister, argues that the Group of 20 nations has an important role to play in ensuring global financial stability but cautioned that “what happens in Europe, what happens in America, also affects directly what happens in Asia and the Pacific.” Australia’s economy, dependent on the export of raw materials like iron ore and coal to China, could be dangerously exposed to any sudden downturn in manufacturing, or construction in the world’s second-largest economy.
Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis continues to worsen amid concerns that cash-strapped Greece risks default and Italy will struggle to implement necessary austerity measures and cut its debt. According to official figures, the 27-nation European Union is Australia’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for about 83 billion Australian dollars (US$84 billion) of two-way trade. Europe is the largest investor in Australia, according to the government.
“If there is a further weakening in demand in the European and American economies then of course that directly affects export markets from Asia as well, which in turn affects economic growth, which in turn affects economies directly integrated with the major economies in Asia,” Mr. Rudd said.
The foreign minister said he will meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in San Francisco to discuss regional security issues and defense posturing before heading to Mexico and then meetings of the United National General Assembly in New York. He will also attend the G-20 development and finance ministers meeting at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
“Our agenda will focus on the Asia-Pacific region, the changes to strategic circumstances through the Asia-Pacific region and what that means for the future of the alliance,” Mr. Rudd said. “In the Asia-Pacific region we have the rise of China, we also have of course in the wider region the rise of India. We also have outstanding tensions in the South China Sea and other unresolved territorial disputes across wider Asia.”
Those talks will mark the anniversary of the Australia, New Zealand, U.S. Security Treaty, or the Anzus Treaty, a post-World War II pact that paved the way for the country’s special forces and navy to support the U.S.-led military response against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks and later the invasion of Iraq.
Australia is reviewing a redeployment of its military to better protect strategically important areas of the country including its energy production infrastructure mostly located on its northwest coast. To counter China’s military buildup, Australia has a nearly A$8 billion program under way to strengthen its navy, including construction of a fleet of air-warfare destroyers and a plan to build 12 new submarines. The resource-rich nation also plans to buy the latest generation of F-35 stealth fighters from the U.S.
“We will be discussing with the Americans on how that is best shaped for the future to underpin the strategic ability of the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr. Rudd said.
Write to Enda Curran at [email protected] and Andrew Critchlow at [email protected]
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