The Australian parliament has ratified the trade deal its government signed with the UK in December, as well as a similar agreement with India.
The deal will not go into force immediately, however, as the UK parliament also needs to ratify it. The Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill is currently going through the House of Commons.
UK to ratify
The Express reports that negotiations between the UK and Australia lasted almost a year before a deal was agreed, with the main terms of the agreement reached on 14 June 2021 and the deal signed on 17 December.
Former international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan shared the news on Twitter and claimed the UK would be “doing the same as soon as our processes allow”.
Aussie deals
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese discussed the deals with British PM Rishi Sunak and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi last week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia last week, reports ABC.
Albanese said: “New trade agreements with India and the UK will strengthen our existing trade and economic relationships. These new agreements will create new opportunities for trade diversification and great outcomes for Australian business and Australian families.”
Duty free
Australia wants to diversify its exports towards India and the UK following recent trade disagreements with China.
Under the Australia-UK deal, more than 99% of Australian goods exports will be duty free, including meat, dairy, sugar and wine products.
According to Reuters, Canberra’s pact with London aims to open up sectors like agriculture and allow freer movements for the service sector.
Indian deal
Meanwhile, India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that the next round of negotiations for the India-UK trade pact is scheduled to happen next month and remained a “high priority”, reports Mint.
The talks – which missed their original October Diwali deadline – were now back on track, said Goyal.
“We are working together to possibly have an in person meeting also very soon but our teams are already engaged. Next month, the next round of negotiations is slated to happen,” he added.
Five rounds of talks have been completed between officials from the two countries covering 26 chapters, including goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights, reports Business Standard.