Economy

The Tax Office and Victoria Police have seized over $4.4 million worth of illicit tobacco as part of Operation Ocean.

An Australia-US trade deal will be hard to strike as beef and pharmaceuticals continue to be sticking points, a Commonwealth Bank economist has said.

The think tank has urged the government to spearhead a regional carbon tariff framework as carbon pricing gains momentum throughout the Asia-Pacific.

The Australian economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the March quarter, dampened by extreme weather events, soft consumer demand and waning public spending.

RBA meeting minutes showed that US trade policy was a significant consideration in the board’s May monetary policy meeting, almost leading to a 50 basis point rate cut.

The Fair Work Commission has announced a 3.5 per cent increase to the national minimum wage, delivering workers their first real pay boost in three years.

US tariffs on steel and aluminium will climb to 50 per cent from Wednesday as the Trump administration vows to revive the US steelmaking industry.

Trimmed mean inflation was slightly above the Reserve Bank’s expectations in April, ABS data has shown, but economists have predicted this won’t get in the way of further rate cuts.

The ‘productivity bubble’ the Australian economy experienced during the pandemic was driven by temporary compositional workforce changes, the Productivity Commission has found.

A US trade court has blocked sweeping ‘Liberation Day’ and fentanyl tariffs, determining that President Donald Trump had inappropriately used emergency powers to impose the tariffs.