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It is an agreement tailored to the UK economy with cutting-edge deals in areas where the UK is a world leader, including digital and technology, as well as better access to Australia for the UK`s main service sectors. The government also believes the agreement with Australia will help join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – a free trade agreement between 11 Pacific Rim countries, including Australia. Currently, meat trade between the two countries is very low. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Australia amounted to £14.5 billion in the year ending June 2021, with Australia being the UK`s 21st largest trading partner, accounting for 1.2% of the UK`s total trade. This free trade agreement will make it easier for UK and Australian businesses to export green technologies and know-how, accelerating both countries` transition to our net-zero emissions targets. We look forward to seeing even more UK companies in Australia and ensuring they maximise all the economic benefits we have gained from our low-cost wind energy and green hydrogen developments. The agreement also covers trade in services, digital trade and intellectual property. British citizens under the age of 35 can travel and work more easily in Australia. “It`s a really historic agreement – it`s a real free trade agreement. Everyone wins,” said Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan.
International Trade Minister Liz Truss called the deal “historic” and said “the gold standard agreement shows what the UK is capable of as a sovereign trading nation.” The deal is expected to unlock £10.4 billion in additional trade, boost our economy and raise wages across the UK while removing tariffs on 100% of UK exports. The conclusion of a new preferential trade agreement with Australia is welcome for British manufacturers, who will benefit from the first day of duty-free access to goods sold and will see improved business mobility between the two countries. There is hope to export more green technologies and digital services with lower trade barriers, open Up Australia to UK businesses and offer more choice to UK consumers. Parliament`s legal role in trade agreements is limited. No debate or vote on the agreement is necessary. Trade agreements also aim to abolish quotas – these are limits on the amount of goods that can be traded. The deal adds only a small fraction to Britain`s $3 trillion economy, but it is the first trade deal London has renegotiated from scratch since leaving the European Union. In 2019-2020, trade in goods and services between Australia and the UK was estimated at £20.1 billion, and both sides hope to significantly increase this amount. Australia`s High Commissioner for the UK, George Brandis, said the agreement was “a historic moment for both our countries”. He added: “We have made rapid progress on this agreement, and we have now reached a benchmark agreement that will strengthen not only our economic ties, but also our people-to-people relations.” The agreement eliminates tariffs on all British goods exported to Australia and on almost all Australian exports to the UK, subject to the “rules of origin” that determine the provenance of the goods. According to the government, more than £4 billion of UK exports will no longer be subject to tariffs. The government also highlights a number of environmental provisions in the agreement that relate to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
However, an explicit reference to the goal of limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5°C has been dropped. Climate NGOs will not be impressed. Analysis: From a purely economic point of view, the first deal renegotiated from scratch after Brexit will save every UK household £1 a year Australia also welcomed the deal, its second largest trade deal with another country. The uk`s biggest asset for growth will be in the services sector, with machinery and car manufacturing being the areas where it will thrive the most. Overall, the government estimates that the agreement will boost bilateral trade by £10.4 billion a year over the next decade and a half. Climate activists will take a close look at the wording of the deal on global warming ambitions after it was reported that Britain has caved in to Australian demands to pay specific figures to keep the temperature rise below 1.5 degrees. ==References=====External links===The Department of Commerce insists that the agreement is the most ambitious in terms of climate that Australia has ever made, and rejects the suggestion that the absence of the 1.5 degree figure is a mitigation compared to other agreements. The abolition of all tariffs and quotas could lead to an increase in imports from Australia. Farm groups say the deal is likely to set a precedent for future trade deals with major agricultural exporters and that the cumulative effect of these deals could have a significant impact on UK agriculture. In economic terms, however, the deal is expected to reduce prices of Australian goods in UK stores by just over a pound per year per household and, by the government`s own admission, would contribute only 0.02% to the size of the UK economy over 15 years.
Updated estimates released Friday by the Department of International Trade — using an updated modeling approach and taking into account the finer details of the agreement-in-principle — suggest it could now be worth up to 0.08 percent. Nevertheless, it remains more golden duck than golden goose. LONDON/SYDNEY, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Britain and Australia have signed a free trade agreement that aims to boost bilateral trade of more than £10 billion ($13.3 billion), eliminate tariffs, open up sectors such as agriculture and allow greater freedom of movement for service professionals. Ultimately, however, global trade depends on distance. Ties such as a common language, a common history, and a like-minded government may help, but eliminating tariffs and opening up market access will do little to bring Britain closer together from one country to the other side of the world. .