The United Kingdom (UK) has signed a free trade deal with Australia which it says will benefit consumers and businesses.
It is described as the first post-Brexit deal negotiated from scratch and not “rolled over” from trade terms that the UK enjoyed while in the European Union (EU).
The government estimated it would unlock £10.4bn of additional trade while ending tariffs on all UK exports.
However, some UK farmers have expressed concern that they could be undercut by cheap imports.
The government said the deal was also a gateway into the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region and would boost the UK’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the largest free trade areas in the world.
Australia has also praised the deal, its second-largest trade contract with another country.
“It’s a truly historic agreement – it’s a true free-trade agreement. Everyone wins,” said Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan.
The agreement, which was signed in a virtual ceremony by International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, is due to come into force next year.
Ms Trevelyan described it as “a landmark moment in the historic and vital relationship between our two Commonwealth nations”.
It demonstrated what the UK could achieve as “an agile, independent sovereign trading nation”, she added.
In a BBC interview, she rejected suggestions the deal would harm UK farmers.
She said the deal had “very clear safeguards” and “clear tariff quotas in the first 10 years”, as well as “an overarching safeguard mechanism”.
“The reality is that Australia sends about 70 per cent of its beef and sheep meat to the Asia-Pacific markets,” she said.
“They’re closer for them and they get great prices. So I’m not expecting there to be any dramatic surge into UK markets and I know that our citizens will continue to buy what they want, but I’m very pleased to do things that will open up consumer choice.”
For Australia, the deal eliminates tariffs from 99 per cent of its exports and makes it easier for Australians to live and work in the UK.
It will also help boost sales of Australia’s wine, beef and sugar. These goods have been boycotted by China – Australia’s main export market – due to recent political tensions.
Among the main points of the deal listed by the UK government are:
- It gives UK firms guaranteed access to bid for an additional £10bn worth of Australian public sector contracts per year
- It allows young people to work and travel in Australia for up to three years at a time, removing previous visa rules
- It gives UK professionals including architects, scientists, researchers, lawyers and accountants access to Australian work visas without being subject to Australia’s skilled occupation list.
In 2019-20, trade in goods and services between Australia and the UK was valued at £20.1bn, and both sides are hoping to expand this amount considerably.
Currently, trade in meat between the two countries is very small.
Approximately only 0.15 per cent of all Australian beef exports go to the UK. Last year, 14 per cent of sheep meat imports to the UK came from Australia. (BBC)
