Australia signs historical trade deal with the UK
Tarif free market access and expanded job opportunities for Aussies part of new free trade agreementSix months after a verbal agreement between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, an official Australia-UK free trade deal has been signed and sealed.
In a statement released by Federal Trade Minister, Dan Tehan, he said the agreement was “the most comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that Australia has concluded”, other than the one with New Zealand.
The deal was inked between Minister Tehan and UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, during a virtual ceremony in Adelaide today.
According to the new free trade agreement, Australians will benefit from:
- Immediate elimination of tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exports to the UK, valued at around $9.2 billion.
- Removal of around $43 million in annual customs duties for Australian wines.
- Tariff-free quota of 35,000 tonnes for beef that will expand to 110,000 tonnes in year 10. Tariffs on beef will be eliminated after ten years.
- Tariff-free quota of 25,000 tonnes for sheep meat that will expand to 75,000 in year 10. Tariffs on sheep meat will be eliminated after ten years.
- Tariff-free quota of 80,000 tonnes for sugar at that will expand to 220,000 tonnes in year 8. Sugar tariffs will be eliminated after eight years.
- Same access to the UK’s lucrative jobs market as their European competitors, except from the Republic of Ireland. This means Australian job seekers can compete on an equal footing with EU nationals in the UK for the first time in more than 40 years.
- Around $200 million a year in savings as tariffs on British imports into Australia such as cars, whisky, confectionery, biscuits and cosmetics, are phased out within five years. Tariffs on almost all UK goods will be eliminated once the deal comes into force.
- Expanded eligibility for a working holiday visa with the age limit raised from 30 to 35 years. Australians will also be able to stay longer, with stays allowed for up to three years in each country.
- Australian businesses will have the guaranteed right to bid for a greater variety of UK government contracts in a procurement market worth an estimated half-a-trillion dollars annually.
The Government estimates that around 75 per cent of Australia’s two-way trade will be covered by free trade agreements when the Australia-UK FTA enters into force, representing preferential access to 2.9 billion customers, up from 27 per cent when the Morrison Government came to office.
The agreement is expected to come into force in 2022.
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