The manufacturing sectors of Australia and the United States are both in a period of adjustment due to globalisation, but have certain advantages, the US Consul General has said.
Hugo Llorens, who has been in his role as the second-most senior US bureaucrat in this country since October last year, made his comments in an interview with ABC Illawarra last Friday.
"We're all in a period of globalisation and that makes rapid change, and we've had traditional manufacturing take a hit, but I'm confident the transformation is going in the right direction,” said Llorens, who is responsible for NSW, Queensland and Norfolk Island.
"The US and Australia will remain significant manufacturing countries."
He said that both countries had particular strength in high-value, innovative manufacturing, and that targeting niches and partnering with researchers were sensible thing for business to aim for.
"No one manufactures the whole plane – it's built in many pieces and Australia has pieces of the pie on huge industrial products,” he said.
"Our economic prosperity will be building partnerships between Australian and US companies and research institutions."
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