The historic free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia and the UK will come into effect on 31 May 2023, it has been announced.
The historic free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia and the UK will come into effect on 31 May 2023, it has been announced. The deal is the first ‘new’ UK trade deal signed since Brexit and will remove tariffs on trade between the UK and Australia when it comes into force.
Speaking regarding the deal, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “This agreement will deliver significant benefits to Australian exporters, consumers, workers, and our economy more broadly.”
The UK Government has also said the agreement is “expected to unlock £10.4 billion of additional trade, boosting our economy and increasing wages across the UK.”
Benefits to Australian exports to the UK
Under the deal, there will be no tariffs on 99% of Australian goods exports to the UK. This will open up new export opportunities, including agriculture sector goods such as:
For some agricultural products, such as beef, sheep meat, dairy and sugar, Australia will have access to expanding tariff quota volumes. Within 10 years, these tariff quotas will be eliminated completely.
Benefits will also be delivered to the export of industrial exports such as precious metals, stones and jewellery, lead and pharmaceuticals.
Benefits to Australian imports from the UK
Savings of around $200 million a year are set to be made as tariffs on imports from the UK are eliminated. After a period of five years, all UK imports will enter Australia duty free.
Notable imports that are set to benefit include:
Further benefits of the A-UKFTA
The deal also includes commitments on the movement of business people, a framework for professional bodies to agree to streamline licensing processes to facilitate the movement of qualified professionals between Australia and the UK, and strong commitments on the environment including climate change and labour.
Reflecting on the deal, Dean Neville, Managing Director for Ligentia Australia, said: “As a business that has strong connections between Australia and the UK, we’re excited about the benefits the free trade agreement offers both countries. In what is already a close relationship, this opens up an even stronger future for trade. Over the coming months, we’ll work closely with customers to unlock the value of the new deal.”
Europe Managing Director, Kenneth Werther, added: “The UK to Australia trade lane is a key development area for Ligentia as UK products continue to sell strongly in the Australian market, and vice versa. Our team in the UK is looking forward to further collaboration with our Australia colleagues to grow our capabilities within this trade lane, including air and ocean supply chain solutions.”
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For further information, please contact Gill Lindsay
Tel: +44 7824 526866
Email: gillian.lindsay@ligentia.global
Ligentia is a global tech-enabled supply chain manager, with over 25 years’ experience delivering more sustainable and agile supply chains. Our customers include some of the world’s most sophisticated retailers and best-known brands in manufacturing, healthcare and consumer goods. Our people are supply chain experts and problem solvers, providing world-class sector and regional expertise backed by smart technology that helps make supply chain complexity much simpler. There are Ligentia hubs in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe.
