The historic Australia-UK free trade agreement (UKFTA) between Australia and the United Kingdom is set to be in place by the end of the month following years of negotiations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is in London ahead of the Coronation, has praised the FTA struck by the former Morrison government as one of the best Australia has ever done, announcing it will finally come into effect on May 31.
The FTA is the UK’s first new trade deal signed since Brexit. It will reset access to the UK market for Australian exporters.
The agreement will remove tariffs on over 99% of the $9.2 billion Australian goods exported to the UK annually, and tariff quotas will be eliminated within a decade. It will help revitalise local manufacturing and provide new access to the UK’s government procurement market worth an estimated half a trillion dollars annually.
As we reported in January, the deal has been a long time in the making and was agreed more than a year ago. Now having worked its way through both the Australian and British parliaments, the agreement is expected to enter into force on the 31 May.
The UK government initially faced some resistance to the deal from its agricultural sector, concerned about what cheaper Australian imports might mean for British farmers.
Mr Albanese said the deal would also make it easier for Australians to live and work in the United Kingdom, and for British citizens to do the same in Australia.
Rules for working holiday visas will change, with Australians able to apply for the visas up to the age of 35, instead of 30, and stay for three years instead of two.
Negotiations are also continuing between Australia and the European Union on a separate free trade agreement. That deal would be substantially larger than the UK deal, providing access to a market of 450 million people, and a GDP of $20 trillion.
Mr Albanese said he expected to meet with EU representatives during his current visit to London for the coronation of King Charles. He indicated the completion of the UK FTA process would allow the government to focus its attention on the EU deal, and said he spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz about the deal last week. An invitation has also been issued to EU leaders to visit Australia in coming months.
As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, Colless Young offers you professional advice on all your overseas trade and shipping requirements with the UK and Europe. We provide a complete range of import and export logistics services, by air and sea, including Customs clearance, warehousing and trucking, at all major Australian ports and airports.
