Britain and Australia on Friday (December 17) signed a free trade deal projected to eventually boost bilateral trade by over 10 billion pounds ($13.3 billion), eliminating tariffs, opening up sectors like agriculture and allowing freer movement for service-sector professionals.
The elimination of tariffs on Australian wine, and a tariff-free quota for beef will help exporters hit by sanctions in China to pivot to British sales. British cars, whiskey, confectionary and cosmetics will see tariffs phased out in Australia.
China is Australia's largest trading partner, but a diplomatic dispute led to Beijing imposing sanctions on a raft of Australian agricultural products last year. This prompted the Australian government to urge exporters to reduce their reliance on China.
Total goods and services trade between Britain and Australia was worth 14.5 billion pounds in the year to June 2021, with Australia ranked Britain's 21st-largest trade partner and accounting for 1.2% of total British trade.The deal adds only a small fraction to Britain's $3 trillion economy, but it is the first trade agreement London negotiated from scratch since it left the European Union.
