LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2021) The United Kingdom has secured a "historic" post-Brexit free trade deal with Australia that will scrap tariffs on products such as UK cars, Scotch whisky and confectionary and offer young people the opportunity to live and work in Australia, the UK government announced on Tuesday.
"Today marks a new dawn in the UK's relationship with Australia, underpinned by our shared history and common values," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted as saying.
The major free trade agreement was agreed by Johnson in a meeting with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison in London on Monday evening.
After leaving the EU on January 31, 2020, the UK embarked on trade negotiations around the world, in an attempt to compensate for its departure from the European bloc.
So far, the UK government has inked post-Brexit trade deals with Japan, Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, among other countries, while negotiations with the United States and New Zealand still continue. It has also formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"This is global Britain at its best - looking outwards and striking deals that deepen our alliances and help ensure every part of the country builds back better from the pandemic," Johnson said, stressing that the new free-trade agreement with Australia "opens fantastic opportunities for British businesses and consumers, as well as young people wanting the chance to work and live on the other side of the world."
The post-Brexit FTA will also eliminate tariffs on Australian wines, swimwear and confectionery, boosting choice for UK consumers and saving households up to 34 million puonds ($47.8 million) a year.
UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss also hailed the deal as an example of what the post-Brexit UK can achieved "as a sovereign trading nation," noting that the agreement will pave the way for London to join the 9 trillion Pounds Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade area.
The UK government said that Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinize the agreement in detail once the text is published.
Total trade between the UK and Australia was worth 13.9 billion pounds in 2020, but UK farmers have raised concerns about being undercut by cheap, lower-welfare imports under the new tariff-free and quota-free trade deal.
