Aussie IT firms 'can build on FTA' 29/11/04 18:33 Australian IT...

Aussie IT firms 'can build on FTA'

29/11/04 18:33


Australian IT firms should be able to make major inroads into the $US200b US government procurement system, the nation's lead trade ambassador to the US says.

Geoff Gray, Austrade's senior trade commissioner in Washington, said the opportunities available under the Australia-US free trade agreement (FTA) were limited only by the imagination of domestic firms.

And in many cases, having a vivid imagination was just what American government departments were after.

The FTA comes into operation from January 1 next year, with tariffs on most products traded between the two countries eliminated.

It also enables Australian firms to bid for US government procurement contracts without a six per cent levy imposed upon them, and to bid for contracts from 29 state governments.

Mr Gray said so many IT contracts were on offer in the key areas of homeland security, health and veterans affairs that there were plenty of opportunities for Australian firms to gain a beachhead in the American market.

"In terms of the $US200 billion in government procurement, around $US60 billion is in IT alone," he said.

"For homeland security the budget is around $US10 billion. In homeland security, there's $1 billion just for making things safer."

Some of these contracts are for imaginative ideas that, at this stage, may not have commercial applications but would give the US a technological edge in the future.

Mr Gray is in Australia for a series of seminars in major capital cities to outline the opportunities available under the FTA, and particularly the government procurement aspect of the agreement.

Between 600 and 700 firms have signed up for the seminars.

Apart from around 30 extra Austrade staff who are to be employed to help firms benefits from the FTA, the trade organisation is building a sophisticated database that will help businesses target US opportunities.

Mr Gray said there was plenty of interest from Australian firms in the agreement, while US businesses were unafraid of the deal.

"We've found American firms, rather than being worried about losing businesses to new competitors, see the FTA as a chance to build trade," he said.

Meanwhile, Airservices Australia has won a $20 million contract to provide air traffic control services in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.