Commonwealth: Boosting trade with Australia

Greater Birmingham Commonwealth

Chamber of Commerce Contact: Mandy Haque T: 0845 6036650

Australia: Land of opportunity

Boosting trade with Australia

By Philip Parkin

The Chamber has welcomed last month’s announcement on the UK securing a trade deal with Australia, which will eliminate tariffs on all UK goods.

It is the first major trade deal negotiated from scratch since the UK left the European Union.

The main elements of the deal were agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and mean British products such as cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics will be cheaper to sell into Australia, boosting UK industries that employ 3.5 million people across the country.

The UK-Australia trade relationship was worth £13.9bn last year and is set to grow under the deal, said the Government.

Mr Johnson said: “This marks a new dawn in the UK’s relationship with Australia, underpinned by our shared history and common values.

“Our new free-trade agreement opens fantastic opportunities for British businesses and consumers.

“The free trade deal will eliminate tariffs on Australian favourites like Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines, swimwear and confectionery, boosting choice for British consumers and saving households up to £34m a year.”

The Government said that the trade agreement was also a gateway into the fastgrowing Indo-Pacific region and will boost the UK’s bid to join CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering £9tn of gross domestic product (GDP) and 11 Pacific nations from Australia to Mexico.

The UK exported £5.4bn worth of services, including £1.4bn of insurance and pension services and £780m of financial services, to Australia in 2020.

‘Businesses will welcome this agreement in principle as a step forward’

Chamber international director Mandy Haque said: “We welcome this agreement in principle. There is still a lot of work to go on behind the scenes, but this is a good step forward, not least because it will eliminate tariffs for UK exporters to this important market.

“I would urge the government to work with the business community in the coming months to insure they have the opportunity to shape the agreement.”

William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Businesses will welcome this agreement in principle as a step forward. However, there is a long way to go before the signing and implementation of a free trade deal.

“Ultimately it is businesses not governments that trade, and this deal with Australia needs to be complemented by providing practical, on the ground, support to help firms maximise the new opportunities the agreement will bring.

“It should also be pointed out that trade with Australia represents only around 1.2 per cent of the UK’s total, so while a deal will have welcome benefits it will not offset the ongoing issues with trade to the European Union.”

Among local business that have interests in Australia is the Richardson family, who have multiple investments around the Pacific Rim and is looking forward to a deal which reduces or eliminates tariffs, as it will encourage further investment.

Carl Richardson said: “We are for sure actively on the look-out for opportunities in the region to back ambitious management teams who are actively seeking growth capital, and news such as this only strengthens our appetite to invest further.

“At the same time, we believe that the importance of the progress with Australia could go far beyond being just another trade deal ticked off the ‘to do’ list, and it can act as a significant stepping stone for the UK to join the Comprehensive and Progressive TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the near future.”

And commenting from the Australian viewpoint, Warren Bartlett, deputy commissioner, Europe, for Trade & Investment Queensland, said: “Queensland is an exportorientated economy. The Aus-UK Free Trade Agreement is likely to present significant opportunities for bilateral trade between the UK and Queensland across a number of industry sectors.

“As further details of the trade agreement emerge, Trade & Investment Queensland (TIQ) will assist Queensland exporters to identify specific UK market opportunities and support UK businesses seeking to establish a presence in Queensland in order to service the Australian market.”