North America market profile

North America is currently the world’s largest regional economy. It will remain a powerful player in the global economy for the foreseeable future, especially for the development of new technologies and the provision of investment capital.

Its sophisticated capital markets and financial structures provide vital support mechanisms for innovative SMEs to expand into these growth markets.

North America is a key Queensland export market and trade and investment partner.

The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) has been in place since 2005. This means that 97% of Australia’s non-agricultural exports (excluding textiles and clothing) are duty-free and two-thirds of agricultural tariffs have been eliminated. Since the agreement entered into force, two-way trade between Australia and the USA has doubled, and two-way investment has tripled.

As with the 2016 signing of the Transpacific Partnership (TPP), Australia, Canada and Mexico are partners in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which entered in force in 2018 and also currently includes Japan, New Zealand, Vietnam and Singapore.

North America is the largest market for funding and commercialising innovative technologies and already attracts many technology firms from Queensland and other parts of Australia. It will be a key partner for companies looking to enter regional growth markets in Central and South America.