The Australian trade minister is flying to the UK next week in an attempt to break the deadlock over a multibillion-pound post-Brexit trade deal, The Times has learnt.
Britain and Australia have already held four formal rounds of negotiations. Dan Tehan, Australia’s trade minister, is hoping that further talks this month will finalise a free trade agreement, according to a source close to the discussions.
Sticking points are understood to include agricultural tariffs. British farmers want Australian exports, including beef and lamb, to meet the same standards as UK products.
Liz Truss, trade secretary, has previously said that the UK wants to “forge deeper links with a nation that shares our values of democracy, free enterprise, and human rights”. The aims for an Australian deal included a focus on technology, innovation and research and development.
Trade with Australia in goods and services totalled £18.5 billion in 2019. The government estimates that a free trade deal could eventually increase British exports to Australia by almost £1 billion.
Advertisement
David Henig, a former British trade negotiator and ex-assistant director at the Department for International Trade, said contentious areas were likely to include the amount of agricultural products exported to the UK and the rules for goods such as hormone-treated beef. He also said a delay could be caused by the lack of clarity over “what the UK wants from the trade deal with Australia”.
Britain is trying to strike trade deals around the world after leaving the European Union. Australia is seen as an important step on the way to joining a wider free trade agreement known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Tehan’s visit could be a tactic to put pressure on Britain to agree a favourable trade deal with Australia so that it can join the CPTPP, Henig said.
After the last round of talks, the UK trade department said: “We remain committed to upholding our high environmental, labour, product and food safety, and animal welfare standards in our trade agreement with Australia, as well as protecting the NHS.”