Department of Trade
11 January 1956 – 17 December 1963
Renamed Department of Trade and Industry in 1963.
Department of State responsible for Australia's overseas trade policy, trade agreements, tariff policy and export promotion, built up under minister John McEwen.
Names over time
- Department of Trade1956–1963
- Department of Trade and Industry1963–1972
How it came into existence
Created on 11 January 1956 by the Administrative Arrangements Order for the seventh Menzies ministry, with John McEwen as minister and John Crawford as secretary. It took trade, trade agreements and tariff policy from the abolished Department of Trade and Customs, export promotion, overseas marketing and the Trade Commissioner Service from the abolished Department of Commerce and Agriculture, and secondary industry development (the Division of Industrial Development, inherited from the Department of Post-War Reconstruction) from the Department of National Development.
- Trade and commerce with other countries
- Trade agreements
- Tariff policy and the Tariff Board
- Export policy and promotion
- Overseas marketing of primary produce
- Australian Trade Commissioner Service
- Secondary industry development (Division of Industrial Development)
The National Archives says the Division of Industrial Development, which came from the Department of Post-War Reconstruction, operated until 1956, when its functions were incorporated into the Department of Trade; Wikipedia lists National Development among the department's predecessors for industrial development.
How it ended
Became the Department of Trade and Industry on 17 December 1963, after the November 1963 election, when its responsibilities were widened to include secondary industry and manufacturing; McEwen stayed as minister.
- Trade policy and agreements
- Export promotion and the Trade Commissioner Service
- Tariff policy
- Secondary industry development
Main functions
- Trade policy and trade agreements, including the 1957 Agreement on Commerce with Japan
- Multilateral trade negotiations under the GATT
- Tariff policy and the Tariff Board
- Export promotion and trade publicity
- Australian Trade Commissioner Service
- Export credit insurance (Export Payments Insurance Corporation)
- Secondary industry development (Division of Industrial Development)
Lineage
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Sources
Government records and websites
Other sources
Some dates or links for this organisation are not fully confirmed. Corrections are welcome.