Newly appointed Commonwealth Trade Minister Dr Craig Emerson is the most experienced economist and one of the best policy thinkers in the Gillard Government, but he is being wasted in a ministerial portfolio that no economist could enjoy: Trade.  The Courier-Mail reported today:

Queensland exporters are to receive top-level assistance breaking into lucrative overseas markets with new Trade Minister Craig Emerson eager to help discover fresh opportunities.

From what I’ve seen, Queensland exporters are already alert to fresh opportunities, especially in China.  Indeed, Chinese buyers are actively seeking them out.  At the 2010 Australian Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast, Dr John Cheh, CEO of Esquel Enterprises (manufacturer for major global brands including Gant, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger), pleaded with cotton growers to grow more Pima cotton.  If they grew it, he would buy it.

Economists think trade promotion by government is a waste of money, because exporters and buyers in global markets have pretty strong incentives to find each other and do business (i.e., there’s no market failure justifying government intervention).  We’re talking about sophisticated operators in global markets – people like Esquel’s Dr Cheh, who oversees a company with $US 1 billion in revenues.

It’s wishful thinking to suppose we’ll ship more product because some random, international CEO enjoys a nice glass of champagne and some hors d’oeuvres at an Austrade cocktail party.