Australia is one of the UK’s closest allies; we share a head of state, the same language, the same values, and deep and historic links of kinship.
A trade deal with Australia has been reached and is an enormous opportunity for the UK. We are Australia’s second largest trading partner outside the Asia-Pacific and trade between our two countries was worth £18.8 billion in 2019. The deal will eliminate tariffs on all UK goods and will support jobs and businesses across the country. People under the age of 35 will also be able to travel and work in Australia more freely. Further details on the deal will be released shortly.
I appreciate that concerns have been raised about the impact of the trade deal with Australia and its effect on food standards in particular. Australia shares our beliefs in high standards in areas such as animal welfare and the environment. This will deal will uphold these high standards.
British farmers will also be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years through the use of tariff rate quotas and further safeguards. The Trade and Agriculture Commission will provide independent scrutiny of animal welfare in the deal ahead of its ratification.
Every part of the UK is set to benefit from the agreement. Scotland, for instance, exported £126 million worth of beverages to Australia in 2020 and the deal will help distillers by removing tariffs of up to 5 per cent on Scotch Whisky. Machinery and manufacturing goods account for 90 per cent of exports from Northern Ireland to Australia and the deal will remove tariffs and simplify customs procedures. The more than 450 businesses in Wales that exported to Australia last year will also benefit from the deal.
Further provisions on digital, investment and market access for service professionals will benefit the UK's services sector. Additional details on the deal will be released shortly and Parliament will scrutinise the deal in the usual way alongside an impact assessment and explanatory memorandum.
I understand there are some specific questions, which are answered here:
Q: What protections will there be for British farmers?
British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years using tariff rate quotas and additional safeguards. Agricultural producers are also being supported to increase exports overseas including in the Indo-Pacific.
Q: How will the deal uphold our excellent animal welfare standards?
Australia has one of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, similar to our own, and scoring five out of five by the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE). The practices of castration of chickens and production of foie gras, for example, are banned in Australia on welfare grounds but continue to be permitted in the EU. On hormone-fed beef specifically, it is banned in the UK and will not be allowed to enter the UK market – this will not change under any FTA.
Q: Will Australia meat 'flood' the UK market?
Australian export opportunities to the UK are likely to be limited. We are more likely to see prime steak for restaurants, rather than cheap imports flooding supermarket shelves. Australian imports of beef would likely displace current imports from the EU, not British produce. The EU accounts for the majority of beef imports into the UK with 237,928 tonnes imported in 2020 making up 98 per cent of total beef imports into the UK that year.
Additionally, Australian beef and lamb is already committed to the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific markets. Around 75 per cent of Australian beef exports, and 70 per cent sheep meat are imported to Asia-Pacific markets, where the costs of beef production can be twice as high than the UK in some markets. The prospect of substantive Australian imports of beef and sheep meat is very low.
There are strong ‘Buy British’ trends in the UK and strong support for British farmers – 81 per cent of beef sold in the UK is under the British logo, with Aldi, Budgens, the Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons and Waitrose all using 100 per cent British beef.
Q: How will this deal impact climate change and the environment?
I can assure you that ministers are determined, as I am, to ensure that a trade deal will not threaten our ability to meet our environmental commitments. The Government’s outline approach to a trade deal with Australia stated that the UK would seek to secure provisions that "support and help further the Government's ambition on climate change and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050." A full impact assessment on the deal will be published shortly.
Stay updated with my work in Wrexham and Westminster and sign up to my monthly newsletter: