"Ahead of the Prime Minister's meeting with President Trump, it is becoming clearer that Australia needs to urgently deal with a growing regulatory burden impacting our vital supply chains, which support thousands of businesses and millions of jobs," said Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association, Australian Industry Group.
"A new Australian Industry Group survey of our trade-exposed industrials sector shows global trade disruption driven by the recent changes to the United States' policy is rippling across industry, disrupting supply chains, dulling confidence and impacting investments.
"The Prime Minister's meeting with President Trump may well be the most consequential of his time so far in office with trade, AUKUS and the supply of critical minerals all to the forefront.
"The new tariffs announced by the US are arguably the greatest disruption to the global trade system in recent memory. While Australia has been spared some of the highest tariffs, our economy is far from immune.
"Australian Industry Group conducted our first Trade, Tariffs and Supply Chains survey in August to understand how this trade shock will affect us; many of our findings make for sobering reading.
"Half of Australian industrial businesses already report some impact from US trade policies, with another quarter expecting it soon. Weakened export conditions, greater difficulty sourcing imports and an environment of investment uncertainty are being felt across the industrial ecosystem.
"Disruptions to our supply chains have increased due to the US trade policy shock. Costs pressures have risen and growth opportunities have been missed, while productivity has suffered as industry contends with yet another wave of disruption.
"Fortunately, our industrial businesses are responding with increased investment to improve supply chain resilience. Technology upgrades lead the priority list, with AI solutions appearing for the first time as a major supply chain innovation theme.
"But our policy settings are holding industry back. A growing and complex set of regulations – for environmental, labour, digital and product standards – are adding red tape to our trading businesses. And as these requirements are passed along between businesses in the supply chain, their burden is magnified via a phenomenon known as 'grey tape'.
"At a time of global trade disruption, we cannot afford to let poor regulation compound the problem. Practical reforms to our regulatory settings will help give industry the flexibility to invest for innovative and resilient supply chains.
"Australia cannot control developments in the global trade system, but we can get our regulatory house in order. This report identifies the challenges and maps out a path for a more productive and resilient trading future," Mr Willox said.
The survey included 136 business, which employ 138,000 people and had a turnover of $31 billion in 2024/25.
A copy of the report can be found here
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