Britain Open to Aussie-Style EU Trade Deal but Australia Wants More

10/05/2020

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Byron Kaye & Swati Pandey | Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) – As Britain’s negotiations with the European Union on a post-Brexit trade deal go down to the wire, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his country could trade with the bloc on similar terms to Australia, if no agreement is reached.

But Australia itself is far from happy with its arrangements with the EU and is pushing for the better market access that only a fully-fledged trade deal with the wealthy 27-member bloc and its 500 million potential customers would bring.

Now, the bulk of Australia’s 15 billion euros ($18 billion) exports to the EU are subject to tariffs and quotas set under basic World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms.

That’s why Australian exporters are backing Canberra’s moves to strike a new free trade agreement (FTA) with Brussels so they can get the certainty they need to invest and plan.

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