According to an interview, Steven Ciobo, Australia’s new trade minister said there is more to Australia than just commodities.

Replacing the former trade and investment minister Andrew Robb, Steven Ciobo is more than just dedicated to reinforce a couple of key messages pertaining to focusing on the services side of the economy. On an interview with Ciobo, he said that Australia is not just about resources and energy. He added that the services side represents 70 to 80 percent of the economy, however, only 20 percent of the country’s export.

Currently in the United States for the Australia-United States Business Week, Ciobo contemplated that there is a lot of things that Australia should maximize in the service sector of the country.

Despite the constant dropping of Australia’s economic position due to the collapse in commodity prices, Ciobo remains to be positive towards this matter. He is currently in the United States to promote Australia as an investment destination to American business. Ciobo, according to an interview also believes that the country’s low sovereign risk profile, common language, and the familiarity with its legal and accounting systems are some of the reasons why American investors like doing business in Australia.

Ciobo’s Goal for Australian economy

One of the goals of Ciobo is to continue the endorsement of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership. This is to pursue an ambitious trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim countries. Despite having criticism from U.S. prudential hopefuls including Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Ciobo reiterated that TPP is not only for the benefit of Australia, but it is also in America’s national interest.

Other than the ratification of the TPP, Ciobo is also looking forward to securing free trade agreements and economic cooperation from developing countries in Asia such as Indonesia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to Ciobo, he is recognizing a lot of opportunities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led free trade agreement. Ciobo believes that pursuing this can be beneficial for the Australian government’s goal of improving domestic growth and employment.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/23/australian-trade-minister-talks-investment-tpp-and-fta.html