I'm guessing Canada and Australia would go for an EFTA 'lite' type deal. As EFTA doesn't require a customs union it's probably the easiest to implement and build up from. I think they amended EFTA to require free movement which was a no-op as all the EFTA countries had free movement with the EU. I could see the EU agreeing to a NAFTA style workers visa if they really wanted push the freedom of movement side hence the…
canada already has CETA for EU trade and CEFTA for trade with the EFTA. it seems like "associate membership" must mean something that goes beyond just a free trade agreement, because that already exists.
Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
201–210 of 216 posts
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not really. Australia is very lax when it comes to bringing in dependents, who outnumber skilled migrants themselves. We also have an oversupply of technically skilled people, with nothing for them to work on, because we got rid of all of our industry. High energy prices and wages means that you'll struggle to get anything that isn't finance, gambling, or real estate related off the ground. I guess defense is the oth…
> There are currently 3 million temporary visa holders in the country, It's pretty important to realise that this includes student visas (600K - and education is a major earner for Australia) and graduate visas (200K) and 700K New Zealanders (who have their own special temporary class). There are also 250K working holiday visas (ie backpackers).
The single biggest justification for our high migration setting (among the highest in the OECD) is ostensibly for skills we need to keep the economy afloat. I've yet to see a skills shortage closed by migration. And of course, skilled migrants are one of the smaller cohorts in our net intake -- we actually bring in more dependents than we do skilled workers.
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apart from the "Crocodile Dundee" and "Men at Work" phenomena in the late 80s, there is no real cultural pollination between Australia and the US, as far as I can tell. It's too far away and there are no real reasons for Americans to visit, nor are there enough internationally notable Australian music brands, films, or products that give visibility to the country, which is one price of being a commodity producing nat…
Re autos, IIRC Holden shut down in the late 2000s. But the Australian economy (and Canadian, for that matter) is just houses and holes.
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
From the American side it felt like we had more cross-pollination with Australia in the 90s than in the decades following. Disney even had a studio out there that animated some of the TV shows it aired in the US (and presumably in Australia too). Not sure what changed.
Trump.
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
The trouble is, Pandora's box has been opened. It turns out that the president of the US can act like a crazy post-Soviet-style dictator, and that the mechanisms which are supposed to prevent that are simply not fit for purpose. Even if in 2028 the US elects the most sensible, rule-of-law-oriented president imaginable, allies will still have to look to 2032. Fixing the problem would require constitutional change, whi…
The powers granted to the U.S. President are meant to be used in times of war or situations that threatens the security of the United States. Trump is using it nilly-willy for just about everything. It will, however, be difficult to come up with a law that would put a stop to this without harming the Executive Branch's effectiveness in a time of need. But so far I'm pretty satisfied how Congress and the judiciary are…
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
Per capita GDP is falling with every new migrant. I don't think it's the kind of GDP growth anyone wants to have.
For skilled immigration, this is highly unlikely to be the case.
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
> at least part of the Russian war bill was footed by the money India paid for Russian oil It's weird India gets held to this standard. Don't European countries still buy some natural gas from Russia?
Russian natgas is laundered through third parties, whereas India is laundering Russian oil. Not saying I support any of these sanctions or tariffs, but India is making bank selling Russian oil to Europe right now, so there is going to be some political blowback. Malaysia also.
So...Europe is buying Russian oil and gas? Bit counterproductive, no?
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
For skilled immigration, this is highly unlikely to be the case.
While some are indeed highly skilled and earn well, many are skilled only on paper and end up driving Ubers. Also in the recent past many of the skilled migrants were for low-paid occupations like chefs.
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
FYI I don’t think anyone is accepting American critique on government control and censorship right now. Maybe leave it for a decade or two.
MAGA wishes it had the control over industries and speech that European governments have. Give me a break
The list goes on and on and on — Europe as a whole does not act in this thuggish, extrajudicial, capricious way.
Re: Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apart from the "Crocodile Dundee" and "Men at Work" phenomena in the late 80s, there is no real cultural pollination between Australia and the US, as far as I can tell. It's too far away and there are no real reasons for Americans to visit, nor are there enough internationally notable Australian music brands, films, or products that give visibility to the country, which is one price of being a commodity producing nat…
> "Men at Work" I was confused for a little while: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_at_Work_(1990_film)