Government Regulatory Business - Case Study Example

Running Head: Government regulatory business Name: Course: Class: Date: Tutor Introduction Government business regulatory policies seek to improve the trade and foreign exchange between it and other countries. The government sets up policies, which seek to improve and attract foreign ties with other countries that have similar business policies. Australia has its own regulatory policies and these policies are similar to those set up by other countries, but there are a few differences in the policies set up. The Canadian and the Australian regulatory policies do not have many differences as both countries have almost the same polices that seek to control their international and internal trade policies, (OECD. 2008). The trade policies set up by the two countries prioritize the benefits that each country gets from entering into a contract with the other country. However, the formation of any regulatory policy in any of the two countries; especially those regarding international trade, should meet the standards of the world trade organization. The major difference between the two countries is the level of participation in the international trade. Australia goes into more international trade policies as compare to Canada which deals mostly with the United States majorly. This limits the exposure of the Canadian people to the different trade regulations and policies used in the different parts of the world. Australia on the other hand ventures into trade agreements with countries from different continents. This difference gets reflected in the formation of regulatory policies used by the different countries, ( McRae, Steger , Institute for Research on Public Policy 1988). Many regulations are set up for the purpose of benefiting the citizens of a country. It helps to reduce unnecessary competition, promote healthy business network, and ensure maximum exploitation of resources. Some of the policies set up by countries include free trade policies, standardizations and bilateral treaties. All his regulatory policies aim at making business among their business partners tolerable, and ensure maximum benefits from their business deals. Free trade policies Among the policies set up by the Australian government is the free trade agreement; FTAs. This policy plays a vital role in improving the already existing network among countries across the entire globe, (National Library of Australia1993). With the use of free trade policies the Australian government gets to play a vital part in improving the global trade. These free trade agreements are allowed by the world trade organization, which stipulates the overall rules for the countries participating in the world trade, (Smith, Stone, & Institute for Research on Public Policy, 1987). The free trades agreements covers large regions, but it is mostly agreements between two regions which want to have access to each others’ markets. The agreement allows the two regions to get into each others’ markets with limited or no restrictions. The two parties make an agreement that binds them into a business deal that liberalizes their markets, and makes it accessible to its business people. The agreements commonly reached by the two regions include those that give them a chance to exchange goods and services, and allow the other party to make investments the other country through legal binding. Other issues addressed by the agreements can be those governing intellectual right to properties, procurements regulations and policies which determine the level of competition between the two parties, (National Library of Australia, Commonwealth National Library Australia 2012). The Australian government sets up its policies according to the benchmarks of the world trade organization. However, the main guide to the formation of the policies is the requirements of the Australians. The main things considered are the trade agreements that go a long way to liberalize their markets, and those that have a high quality. The free trade agreements, which Australia is currently into, are six and it is with countries like the United States, New Zealand, Thailand and Chile. The trade agreement covers about 28% of the total Australian trade and contributes a lot to the Australian trade. However, with the other negations that are still underway the total parentage of the Australian trade covered by the free trade agreements will be 44%, which will be a significant portion off the trade sector, (Fredric, Menz, Stevens, 1991). The free trade agreements mostly benefits the exporters in Australia to access foreign markets, and also play a vital role in making the already existing foreign markets large. The exporters manage to access new markets and market their goods with little or no restrictions at all. This helps to make penetration in the foreign market easier, when compared to when they try to penetrate markets of countries with which they have no trade agreements, (Hart. Centre for Trade Policy and Law, Institute for Research on Public Policy 1990). On the other hand, Canada also has free trade agreements with other countries like the United States of America. The trade agreements between the two nations keep fluctuating because of the value of their currencies. Therefore, the two countries do not a stable inflow of benefits from the agreement because the value of the currencies determines which country gets the upper hand of the deal. However the formation of the free trade agreements is similar to that of the Australian government, ( Riggs, Velk, McGill University, North American Studies Program, & Institute for Research on Public Policy 1988). The main determinant is the world trade organization, which provides the rules and regulations for the formation of the trade unions. The priority during the formation of these unions is the quality of trade policies that the two parties will derive from the agreement. However, with the Canadian government the formation of the trade agreements is dealt with depending on the outcome of the agreement. The major threat to the formation of trade agreements in Canada is the out flow of the labor force to the other country. This is what took place when the Canadian dollar lost its value against the US$. Therefore, the most important thing in the agreement formation is the effect of the agreement on the country’s labor force, (Bell, Wanna, 2008). Standardization The Australian government has a standardization policy, where its function is to increase the level of competition between Australia and other countries, ( Schott, Smith, Institute for International Economics (U.S.), Institute for Research on Public Policy1988). It achieves this by facilitating the development of an effective and efficient standardization of the Australian products. The main function of the national standardization policies is to develop both the local and international standards of goods and services to make them have a high value in the market. To achieve this, the standardization process entails developing publications, which creates accepted terminologies in the market, and create accepted concepts about the products, (Pyŏng-man, 2002). The Regulatory Policy and Governance Division (RPGD) is one of the standardization bodies in Australia. The major concern of the division is to ensure that the health policies set up meet the standards that the patients need. To succeed in doing this, the division has policies including; giving the government advice on what needs to be done to improve the regulation of basic needs like food, health facilities and water provision. The provision of such commodities has to be implemented both locally and internationally. The major concern of the regulatory policies is to safeguard the health of the citizens, (El-Agraa, 2011). Canada, on the other hand, also has a national regulatory policy which is a crown federal development cooperation, which has the duty to develop standard policies. Like the Australian standardization policies, their main duty is to develop and ensure that there is an effective and efficient process of standardization. The cooperation known as the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) is in charge of the national standard system and answers to the Canadian parliament through the ministry of industries. Most of the standard set in the country are not through legislative processes, but are mostly voluntary. They are under the control of the consumers, who keep on expecting a certain quality of goods and services according to their demands, and value they pay for the goods, (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010). The SCC represents the demands and interests of the Canadian people in both internal and international forms in an effort to make sure that the standards set by the people get a chance to be known to those interested in the market. Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) These are treaties that countries enter in order to protect themselves from of different forms expropriation when they are doing international business. It shields them from mistreatment when their investors venture into new markets. There is no compensation from the bilateral investment treaties. The only country that Canada has been able to get into a bilateral treaty with is Peru only, (Australia Regulations board, 1987) This is a very small percentage of protection offered against mistreatment because most of the investor in the other countries does not have protection. This minimum number of agreements put Canadian investors at a disadvantage as compared to others from countries under the protection of the bilateral treaty. The major drive in the formation of the bilateral treaty is the commercial advantages that come with the treaty. Australia has successfully managed to enter into many bilateral treaties with nations that help them to make investments in foreign countries with minimum losses. The total number of bilateral treaties that Australia has entered is over fifty as compared to only one entered by Canada,( APAIS 1992). This gives the Australian investors a good chance to venture into any market that they have an agreement with. This increases the chances of the country winning contracts in the other countries because of the deals stipulated in the treaty. It also acts as a protection of the investors, and this helps to improve the entry and settlement of investors into the country because the environment is not as harsh as it is in a country, which does have a bilateral treaty. Conclusion Regulation policies are important for any country as it tries to balance the losses and profits that can be derived from business deals. The main aim of forming these policies is to control the level of competition and also help in reaching the set policies of the government. The main concerns are health issues, environmental effects, and fair treatment both local and foreign investors, they also provide a conducive environments and products fro consumers, (OECD. 2011). However, the regulation formation process should undergo a thorough evaluation to make sure that the objectives of the policy benefit the consumers and the investors. Too much regulation can lead to anti-competition preventing innovation of new products and services, while too little leads to unhealthy competition. Bibliography APAIS (1992). Australian public affairs information service.Sydney: National Library Australia Australia Regulations board. (1987). Commonwealth record. Sydney: Australian Government Publishing Service. Bell, S. & Wanna, J. (2008). Business-government relations in Australia. California: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. El-Agraa, A. (2011). The European Union: Economics and Policies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fredric C. Menz, F, C. & Stevens, S, A. (1991). Economic Opportunities in Freer U.S. Trade With Canada New York: SUNY Press. Hart. M., Centre for Trade Policy and Law, & Institute for Research on Public Policy.( 1990). A North American Free Trade Agreement: The Strategic Implications for Canada. Toronto: IRPP. National Library of Australia, Commonwealth National Library (Australia). (2012). Australian public affairs information service: APAIS. Sydney: National Library Australia National Library of Australia. (1993). Australian national bibliography.Sydney: National Library Australia. OECD. (2008).Implementing Regulatory Reform: Building the Case Through Results: Proceedings of the Meeting of the Group on Regulatory Policy, OECD. Paris: OECD Publishing. OECD. (2011). Regulatory Policy and Governance: Supporting Economic Growth and Serving the Public Interest. Paris: OECD Publishing. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). Towards a Seamless National Economy. Sydney : OECD Publishing. Pyŏng-man, A. (2002). Reforming Public and Corporate Governance: Management and the Market in Australia, Britain and Korea. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. Riggs, A. R., Velk, T., McGill University, North American Studies Program, & Institute for Research on Public Policy.( 1988). Canadian-American free trade (the sequel): historical, political, and economic dimensions, Paris: IRPP. Schott, J, J., Smith, M, G., Institute for International Economics (U.S.). & Institute for Research on Public Policy. (1988). The Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement: The Global Impact. Paris: IRPP. Smith, M, G., Stone, A,F. &Institute for Research on Public Policy.( 1987). Trade Agreement. Paris: IRPP. McRae, D, M., Steger , D, P.& Institute for Research on Public Policy. (1988). Understanding the Free Trade Agreement. Chicago: IRPP. Read More