Describing it as the first “from scratch” trade agreement to be finalised since the UK left the EU, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the deal with Australia was “a landmark moment in the historic and vital relationship between our two commonwealth nations”.
It is expected to unlock £10.4 billion of additional trade, eliminating tariffs on most UK exports including cars and Scotch whisky. Australian favourites such as Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines will be more accessible for British consumers
The deal includes agreements in areas where Britain is a world leader, including in digital and technology, along with increased access to Australia for the UK’s service sectors.
The agreement gives UK and Australian firms guaranteed access to each other’s government procurement markets and will allow young people to work and travel in Australia for up to three years at a time, removing previous visa conditions.
In a first for an Australian trade deal, UK service suppliers — including architects, scientists, researchers, lawyers and accountants — will have access to visas to work in Australia without being subject to its skilled occupation list.
Ms Trevelyan said that the new deal would also boost the UK’s bid to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership), one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering £8.4 trillion of GDP and 11 Pacific nations from Australia to Mexico.
Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers organisation, said: “With enhanced export opportunities for the UK’s medical device manufacturing sector and strengthened frameworks for bi-lateral co-operation on technical standards and regulations, there is much that the UK and Australia can work on in the future to boost exports from the UK.”
