Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison have agreed a trade deal between the UK and Australia. The pair agreed the deal as they met for dinner on Monday.
The new agreement means British products such as cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics will become cheaper to sell to Australia. However, UK farmers are concerned over the deal.
Over the past year, the UK government signed a vast number of trade deals. But these are rollovers to agreements the UK already had when it was part of the EU. This is the first trade deal built from scratch since the UK left the EU, making it an important step for the UK. The nation now moves closer towards joining a wider Asia Pacific free-trade agreement.
Mr Johnson says it “marks a new dawn in the UK’s relationship with Australia, underpinned by shared history and common values”. The new trade agreement opens up great opportunities for both British businesses and consumers, as well as those wanting to work and live down under. Mr Johnson describes it as “global Britain at its best”. The deal deepens alliances between the two countries, and helps ensure we build back better from the pandemic.
The new pact provides UK and Australian food producers, and other businesses, easier access to each other’s markets.
The UK government says becoming a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could give British farmers big opportunities.
Concerns from farmers
However, the farming community are showing concerns over the UK making compromises on its food standards. This is because Australian farmers are allowed to use some hormone growth promoters, pesticides, and feed additives that the UK have banned.
Meanwhile, Scotland raised worries over the farming industry becoming overwhelmed if the market is flooded with lower standard goods.
In addition, there are concerns among UK farmers about not having meaningful safeguards to stop cheap imports undercutting farmers. This is because according to the National Farmers Union (NFU), farmers in Australia can produce beef at lower costs.
However, the Department for International Trade previously stated that any deal with Australia would include protections for the agriculture industry. They also insist the UK’s high standards will not be compromised.
Additionally, there are also tensions in the government between the Environment Secretary, George Eustice, and the Trade Secretary, Liz Truss. Ms Truss defended plans for a deal with Australia, telling MPs that we will ensure “British farming thrives” in any deals made.
Trade in goods and services between the UK and Australia had a value of £20.1bn in the year 2019-20. The biggest exports from Australia to the UK are goods such as metals, wine and machines. Meanwhile, Australia mainly imports cars, medicines and alcoholic drinks from the UK. At the moment, meat trading between the two countries is only a small part. Only 14% of UK sheep meat imports come from Australia, while just 0.15% of all Australian beef exports go to the UK.
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