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Trent Latham Smith (20 January 1967 - ) is an Australian diplomat and Trade Economist.

Early Life

Trent Smith was born 20 January 1967 in Busselton, Western Australia to Philip Smith and Vanna Latham.

Education

Trent Smith has a Bachelor of Arts (honours) in Chinese history from the University of Western Australia, a Bachelor of Applied Economics from Murdoch University, a Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade from the Australian National University, and a Masters of International Relations from Deakin University. He also holds qualifications in Viticulture.

Career

While studying at the University of Western Australia he was elected President of the Guild of Undergraduates for 1990. As Guild President he instigated a major restructuring of the Guild, obtained financing for a new Guild building, and affiliated the Guild to the National Union of Students. He was a member of the Board of the banking co-opt, the University Building Society 1989-1990.

Trent Smith joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1991, and after a posting to The Philippines as a diplomat working on APEC, he became the Trade advisor to the Shadow Minister for Trade, the Hon. Senator Peter Cook, and to the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Kim Beazley. From 1997 until 2000 he was based in Perth and was a member of the Millennium Group of the West Australian ALP.

After leaving Senator Cook’s office in 1999, he was employed as a lobbyist for the Australian Wine Industry. He was successful in increasing the cellar door tax rebate for small vineries.[1]

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

In 2000, he completed a Bachelor of Applied Economics at Murdoch University and joined the Office of Trade Negotiations, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade working to launch the Doha Round of WTO trade negotiations. He shared in a Secretary’s Australia Day Citiation for 2002 for this work