The service sector’s value as an export commodity has been recognised by the creation of a separate visa category for 10,500 Australian business people to work and live in the US, according to local trade and economic specialists.
The service sector’s value as an export commodity has been recognised by the creation of a separate visa category for 10,500 Australian business people to work and live in the US, according to local trade and economic specialists.
The new E-3 visa is seen as a spin-off from the free trade agreement signed in May 2004.
Peter Kenyon, Professor of Economic Policy at Curtin University’s John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, said people often fail to think beyond ‘goods’ when they consider trade.
“We are still stuck in the 18th century where the concept of trade is heavy stuff going by ship to other countries,” he said.
“It’s easier to talk about wool and wheat than services. But trade includes services as well as goods, and the growth in services is huge. This has been addressed in the AUSFTA, which is a good thing.
“It is a good thing because we have been exporting services to the US more readily than in the past and trading services will be of more importance as time goes on.”
Professor Kenyon said the E-3 visas would put services more firmly on the World Trade Organisation’s agenda.
Professor Kenyon said people in business services including finance and banking, accounting and law, and the professions would be eligible for an E-3 visa.
“But don’t be surprised if you see a whole lot of others as well,” he said.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA director of trade services Keith Seed told WA Business News that Australians would need a bachelors degree or higher in their field to obtain an E-3 visa, including architects, lawyers, engineers, doctors, hospitality, health and communications workers.
Mr Seed said the new visa also allowed for spouses to apply to work in the US.
“In 2004 only 900 Australians obtained a two-year standard business visa, of which the global cap is at 65,000,” he said.
“These 10,500 visas strengthen our ties and makes it easier to work for US companies.
“It will help enhance trade and increase trading opportunities and it’s the first of its kind in regards to visa requirements.”
The only down side, according to Mr Seed, is that a significant exodus of talent could add to the skills shortage already facing Australia.
“More than one million Australians are working overseas, but the skills we are short of are not the sort that will be eligible for the E-3 visa,” he said. “We are short of blue collar workers.”
The E-3 visas represented much more than just Australians going to work in the US, according to Professor Kenyon.
“It also facilitates technology transfer, and from that perspective we gain so much,” he said.
“Everyone gains from this kind of interaction and I hope to see it more often in the future.”
Trade Minister Mark Vaile said the visa represented a quantum leap forward in the access that Australian professionals would have in the US.
“It provides new opportunities for skilled Australians to take full advantage of the trade and investment links with the US in the years ahead,” he said.
