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Britain eyes early free trade pact with Australia after leaving EU


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Britain eyes early free trade pact with Australia after leaving EU

By Colin Packham, Kate Holton

 

dgr.PNG

Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab poses for photographs ahead of a bilateral meeting at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, February 6, 2020. AAP Image/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS

 

SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hopes a free trade deal with Australia will be one of the first such pacts to be secured, now that Britain has left the European Union, he said on Thursday.

 

After formally leaving the EU on Jan. 31, Britain entered a transition period that allows it to negotiate future ties with Brussels and begin talks with other major economies, such as the United States and Japan.

 

“We have a trade relationship already worth 17 billion pounds, but we have the potential to do so much more,” Raab told reporters in the Australian capital of Canberra. The figure is equivalent to $22 billion (£16.9 billion).

 

“Australia hopefully will be part of that first wave of high priority deals that we are pursuing,” added Raab, speaking after he met Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

 

Neither Raab nor Payne gave any timetable for the start of free trade talks.

 

Australia is in the midst of talks with the EU for a trade deal, but Payne said the talks with Brussels would not slow the progress of a British deal.

 

Although Australia has strong ties with Britain as a former colony, the trading relationship has waned significantly over the last 50 years.

 

Britain now takes just 3% of Australia’s exports, while China takes nearly 40%. Britain’s entry into the Common Market in 1973 was widely considered a betrayal in Australia, upending decades of tradition and a host of tariff deals.

 

Supporters of Britain’s exit have argued, however, that “family ties” with Commonwealth members, such as Australia, could compensate for the partial loss of Europe’s 444 million customers.

 

During his two-day visit to Australia, Raab will also meet Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham.

 

Talks are expected to focus on trade, but Britain’s decision to allot a limited role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in building its 5G network could also be discussed.

 

The world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with the Chinese government and accusations of enabling state espionage, with the United States urging allies not to use its technology.

 

Although no evidence has been produced publicly and Huawei has denied the claims, the accusations have prompted several Western countries, including Australia, to curb the firm’s access to their markets.

 

In January, Britain said high-risk vendors would be excluded from the sensitive core of networks, and there would a 35% cap on their involvement in the non-sensitive parts.

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-06
  • Haha 1
Posted
8 minutes ago, Logosone said:

Britain now takes just 3% of Australia’s exports, while China takes nearly 40%. Britain’s entry into the Common Market in 1973 was widely considered a betrayal in Australia, upending decades of tradition and a host of tariff 

 

Interesting.

Karma comes to mind! 

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Posted (edited)
19 minutes ago, samran said:

Karma comes to mind! 

Yeah, looks like it (& note the correct flag in the background; Your Govt know the difference although you routinely seem to struggle...????

 

Edited by evadgib
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Posted (edited)

I can think of several products/commodities that Australia would want to export to the UK under a preferential tariff deal - but what UK products would be interesting for Australia? Keep in mind that products must be originating in the UK, or they won’t even qualify. So incorporating/using materials/components from the EU might mean non-elegibilty.

 

Edited by damascase
Typo
  • Like 2
Posted
38 minutes ago, Logosone said:

Britain now takes just 3% of Australia’s exports, while China takes nearly 40%. Britain’s entry into the Common Market in 1973 was widely considered a betrayal in Australia, upending decades of tradition and a host of tariff 

 

Interesting.

 

 

I suggest you go and look at the figures again..... especially wine!

 

 

Table 2.1:  Key Australian agricultural, fisheries and forest exports to the UK by value - 2015
Commodity
Australian Exports to the UK $m
UK Share of Australian Exports to the EU-28
Australian Exports to the EU-28 $m
UK Share of Australian Exports to the world
Australian Exports to the World $m
Wine
384.4
64 per cent
597.0
18 per cent
2,168.0
Beef and veal
120.5
40 per cent
302.5
1 per cent
9,296.4
Sheepmeat
100.8
72 per cent
140.3
4 per cent
2,525.3
Almonds
16.4
5 per cent
302.0
2 per cent
745.3
Wool a
12.8
4 per cent
303.6
<1 per cent
2,906.5
Plant extract b
11.7
26 per cent
45.8
5 per cent
234.4
Chickpeas
11.6
94 per cent
12.3
1 per cent
1,004.3
Offal c
4.4
79 per cent
5.6
1 per cent
773.3
Apples
2.5
100per cent
2.5
23 per cent
10.7
Other
62.1
5 per cent
1,368.7
<1 per cent
31,075.5
Total
727.2
24 per cent
3,080.3
1 per cent
50,739.7
  • Like 1
Posted
19 minutes ago, damascase said:

I can think of several products/commodities that Australia would want to export to the UK under a preferential tariff deal - but what UK products would be interesting for Australia? Keep in mind that products must be originating in the UK, or they won’t even qualify. So incorporating/using materials/component from the EU might mean non-elegibilty.

 

 

A PR win is at the top of the agenda for the Brits. Just to say they have an FTA to vindicate the actions of the past few years.

 

The main thing I suspect the brits want however is access to the Australian labour market. It’s something they’ve talked about often - free movement - and boris banged on about it when he was foreign secretary. With ready access to EU workers drying up, maintaining a flexible work force in the UK will be an issue. 
 

Posted
13 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

A free trade agreement with UK will be welcomed by Australia - our economic, social and military ties go back a long way and leaving the EU is something most Australians support.  

Well, I think it is is quite safe to say that most Australians don’t have a clue about the EU, its role and how it works.....

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Posted
17 minutes ago, samran said:

 

A PR win is at the top of the agenda for the Brits. Just to say they have an FTA to vindicate the actions of the past few years.

 

The main thing I suspect the brits want however is access to the Australian labour market. It’s something they’ve talked about often - free movement - and boris banged on about it when he was foreign secretary. With ready access to EU workers drying up, maintaining a flexible work force in the UK will be an issue. 
 

We can send them overpaid baristas, they can send us overpaid divorce lawyers. Win win.

  • Haha 1
Posted
1 hour ago, samran said:

So the grovel tour of Australia begins. All that is missing is a cap in hand.  
 

For any FTA to be worthwhile access for beef and lamb are probably going to be high up the Australian negotiating list. 
 

I bet the Welsh farmers are going to love that. 

How about the Australian farmers?

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Posted

 

As it now appears that No Deal and Australian Deal are synonyms

it should not have to require much effort to land an Australian Deal.

 

guess some would even refer to it as a quickie

 

 

 

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Posted
33 minutes ago, damascase said:

Well, I think it is is quite safe to say that most Australians don’t have a clue about the EU, its role and how it works.....

You would be surprised how much about Brexit and USA is shown in Australia - but not as to the exact workings. But we do know things like - that Frenchmen can fish in UK waters and British fishermen are banned. 

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Posted
21 minutes ago, gearbox said:

We can send them overpaid baristas, they can send us overpaid divorce lawyers. Win win.

Just as long as Chav’s aren’t allowed in, I’m all good.

Posted (edited)
20 minutes ago, Forethat said:

How about the Australian farmers?

They are to going to love it. Cost competitive on a global scale, the welsh probably will struggle. 
 

But hey, brave new world right? 

Edited by samran
  • Like 1
Posted
9 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

You would be surprised how much about Brexit and USA is shown in Australia - but not as to the exact workings. But we do know things like - that Frenchmen can fish in UK waters and British fishermen are banned. 

Be aware of making trade deal with UK as that would mean that UK vessels then can only fish at Australian waters and vice versa. 

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