New Washington DC trade office to help ties with US President Joe Biden’s administration and boost AUKUS subs deal
SA will launch a new trade office at the heart of global politics, under official plans to boost the landmark AUKUS submarine deal, defence and space projects.
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South Australia will launch a new trade office at the heart of global politics, under official plans to boost the landmark AUKUS submarine deal, lucrative defence projects and space research.
The state government will on Thursday announce a plan for a new Washington DC investment bureau to expand SA’s presence in the state’s largest foreign investor, the US.
Authorities believe the decision, to be ratified in next week’s state budget, will capitalise on the nation’s $368bn AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal.
The office, based with Austrade at the Australian Embassy in central Washington near the White House, will also help boost defence industries, space manufacturing, biomedical science and green investments, officials said.
The Department for Trade and Investment manages three US-based trade offices in Houston, San Francisco and New York.
The state has a worldwide network of 16 trade hubs in the US, UK, Germany, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates.
Taxpayer costs were unavailable but the government said global offices generated more than $30 million trade or investment.
Ministers are recruiting for a DC staffer for the office, which will open “imminently”.
The budget allocates $2.4m for the new DC and Frankfurt, Germany offices as well as for former Lord Mayor Martin Haese to be a special envoy to Singapore and South-East Asia. Labor last year abandoned Liberal plans for a Paris hub.
Trade and Investment Minister Nick Champion said Washington was the US Government’s home and the “beating heart of its political system”.
It would give access to top Biden Administration officials and major agencies such as the Pentagon and NASA.
“As we build on South Australia’s advanced manufacturing capabilities and expand our skill sets to deliver on the AUKUS deal, it makes sense to expand our footprint in the US,” he said. Official figures show the US is SA’s second biggest export market worth more than $1.58bn a year.
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said permanent bases in major global economies would “open significant investment opportunities”.
“This latest expansion builds on the historic AUKUS agreement, putting South Australia front and centre for future investment and helping to create local jobs,” he said.
Mr Champion, who has met with US Ambassador Kevin Rudd during his US trade mission, will announce the trade office at a key defence networking event.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in March committed up to $368bn to deliver a nuclear submarine program.
Premier Peter Malinauskas last month told The Advertiser’s Defending Australia event how “SA is the defence state – we always have been, and we always will be”.
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