Beyond Tariffs: How Regional Investment Can Future-Proof Australia 

The Disillusionment of Global Fair Play

I nearly became a diplomat. My studies in a Double Masters of International Relations and International Environmental Law gave me a front row seat to the idealism of global cooperation. America, a signatory of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was a founding member and signed up in 1948. It was aimed at facilitating international trade by reducing tariffs and other trade barriers, and it served as the primary multilateral framework for international trade until the WTO was established in 1995. 

They promised a more level playing field for nations like ours. Australia, in good faith, removed its trade protections early, trusting the world would follow. Many didn’t. America didn’t. Others protected their industries while we exposed ours.

Now, with the recent announcement of U.S. tariffs, we’re reminded of how little control we really have in a global system built by bigger players for their own benefit.

We aligned ourselves with the West, democratic, liberal, rules-based. It made sense. We avoided the unpredictability of neighbouring political systems, often marked by corruption, military coups, or authoritarianism. But that doesn’t mean the system we joined has always been fair, or that it has our back.

Reassessing Our Leverage

We’re the 55th most populous nation, so we are small. However, according to DFAT, we exported $33.6 billion to the U.S. in 2023 but they imported nearly double that from Australia ($65.1billion). So are we really that small?

The Trump tariffs are a wake-up call, not just politically but economically. They highlight a hard truth: we don’t dictate the rules. We don’t even get to influence them much. So why keep playing the same game and expecting a different outcome?

A Strategic Pivot: Not Isolation, but Investment in Ourselves

This is not a call to retreat but an opportunity to pivot. It’s time to re-centre our efforts on where we do have power: our regions, our capabilities, our people.

Regional Australia has always been our backbone. We feed the nation. We drive energy production. We manage water, land, and the growing impacts of climate change. But we’ve been too focused on export pipelines and too reliant on unstable global partners. It’s time we rebuild and reinvest. This time with clarity, strategy, and resolve.

What This Looks Like on the Ground

Here’s what a national pivot could mean:

• Local value-add in agriculture instead of raw commodity exports.
• Neighbourhood batteries and renewable microgrids, not just feeding into east-coast megaprojects.
• Circular economies built on local skills and supply chains, not international procurement alone.
• Investment based on long-term, locally grounded projects that align with national priorities.

This is not pie-in-the-sky. It’s already happening. Grantus is helping regions invest in themselves and for their future unlocking hundreds of millions for regional investment.

Where Grantus Comes In

Grantus helps leaders navigate this new reality.

Our work is about defensible ideas, backed by strategy, framed by public value, and aligned with economic, social and environmental outcomes. We don’t wait for funding rounds to appear. We help create pipelines of investment-ready projects that make a compelling case to governments and communities alike.

We bring together stakeholders, streamline governance, and help regional leaders turn bold ideas into tangible outcomes. And we do it not just to chase grants but to build something lasting.

The Moment Is Now

When America pivoted its steel industry into a war machine during WWII, it redefined its economy. Australia doesn’t need a war to pivot. We need vision, confidence, and aligned investment. If our political leaders get caught in the headlines, the leadership and initiative must come from our regions.

We cannot close our doors to the world, but we can change the direction of the traffic. Let’s invest in our regions. Let’s reclaim our power, not through retaliation, but through reinvention.