A major trade deal hailed as a big win for Australian farmers will come into force at the end of this month, Australia and the UK have announced.
The long-awaited free trade agreement removes tariffs on Aussie wine, honey, beef, lamb, diary and sugar, clears some red tape for businesses and gives young Australians moving to the UK more time to stay there.
Both governments talked up the potential benefits of a “game-changing” and “historic” deal that also scraps taxes on all UK goods — including cars and whisky — imported Down Under and clears up some rules around digital trading.
“This agreement will deliver significant benefits to Australian exporters, consumers, workers, and our economy more broadly,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while on a visit to the UK for King Charles III’s coronation.
“The Australia-UK FTA represents one of the most comprehensive, innovative and ambitious free trade agreements concluded by Australia to date and strengthens an already close relationship between Australia and the UK.”
A deal between New Zealand and the UK will come into force at the same time.
While the deals are important for the southern hemisphere neighbours, they’re politically significant for a UK government straining to sell the upside of the country’s exit from the European Union.
New Zealand wrapped up negotiations with the EU last year but Australian diplomats are yet to agree to terms with Brussels, in an at-times rocky negotiation.
Sunak has been keen to highlight the positives for UK exporters and businesses.
“As some of our closest allies, and greatest friends, I am delighted our first built from scratch trade deals are with Australia and New Zealand,” Sunak said.
“These landmark deals squarely deliver on my priorities to drive economic growth, boost innovation and increase highly skilled jobs across the UK, ensuring we and our closest friends continue to prosper for generations to come.”
British farmers have raised concerns about an influx of meat and dairy from much larger Australian producers, who will pay no tariffs on exports to the UK within 10 years.
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“They’ve done really, really well,” the ExplainTrade founder said.
“They weren’t playing for the world but in terms of what they were playing for, they knocked it out of the park.”
The UK expects trade with Australia to jump 53 per cent “in the long term”, with a 59 per cent increase for New Zealand.
Australia predicts the deal will save Aussie shoppers $200 million a year on British products.
Announcing the agreement last year, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it could be worth up to $1.3 billion a year to Australia.
Mark Middleton, global managing partner at Grimshaw, a UK-born architecture firm that’s worked on major Australian projects from Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station to Sydney’s light rail and Martin Place metro station, said it would be easier for workers to swap between studios.
“Also of great importance to us is the integration into the UK-Australia FTA of the assurance that architects from both countries can provide services under contract in either country,” he said, in a statement provided by 10 Downing Street.
“This, combined with the provision that those architects within our practice who now wish to transfer between the UK and Australia can work for four years, double the previous term, provides us with much welcomed certainty as we construct our teams and extend our collaboration.”
Other elements of the deal include giving young people until 35 to move between the two countries, and three years to stay there, as well as scrapping farm service for Brits.
The governments said the deal would come into force on May 31.
Albanese, Sunak and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will meet for talks in Downing Street on Friday.
