What a Trump presidency means for print

Article from Australian Printer .com

The 2016 US presidential race captivated audiences around the world, including Australia where millions of Aussies paused to watch Republican candidate Donald Trump secure the 270 Electoral College votes to declare victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Given Australia’s close ties with the US, Trump’s volatile behaviour throughout the campaign has caused anxiety amongst Australia’s business community, including the print sector.

Few business leaders in Australia had predicted a Trump win, indicated by the $35bn that was wiped from the ASX within hours of news of Trump’s victory breaking, although the next day it came back with more.

Economic expert Hagop Tchamkertenian tells Australian Printer the Trump presidency will indeed have an indirect impact on the Australian printing industry, however, he says it is still too early to tell whether it will be positive or negative.

He explains, “If Trump manages to trigger a trade war with Asia then there could be serious economic consequences for Australia and the printing industry.

“On the other hand, if he manages to boost American economic activity by boosting investment in infrastructure, the net impact on global economic activity which includes Australia is likely to be positive.”

Tchamkertenian says if Trump follows up with previous threats made to impose tariffs on Asian imports, this could trigger a trade war which would be damaging for Australia.

He continues, “Any measures that would limit Asian exports to the United States would hurt Australia as our raw material and energy exports to our major trading partner China would be affected.

“Lower Australian exports would reduce national income and negatively impact on the Australian printing industry with consumption and retail trade impacted.”

While the Australian stock market plunged following reports of Trump’s win, it managed to rebound shortly after.

Tchamkertenian says while we can expect some market volatility for the next few months, this will settle once some of the Trump administration’s policies are released, in addition to some positive rhetoric.

“Trump has a pro-business, economic growth and job creation agenda and he is committed to restoring American manufacturing,” he says.

“There were some signs initially of the changing rhetoric when Trump sounded conciliatory during his election winning speech and indicated willingness to work with his opponents and govern for all Americans.

“In the short term there will be uncertainty until the global community sees what the actual policy agenda of the Trump administration will be.”

The Printing Industries Association of Australia have not responded to Australian Printer’s questions on the issue, while the Australian Manufacturers Workers Union (AMWU) says it is too soon to tell what impact Trump will have.

AMWU national print secretary Lorraine Cassin says, “Our concerns would be that anything that affects the economy is going to affect printing, at this stage it is too early to say.”

Source: Australian Printer