Don't be fooled by Remainers, the Australia trade deal is better than anything we had in the EU

The template deal puts a stake in the ground for the type of country Britain is becoming: an outward looking, global trading nation.

Source - Daily Telegraph - 15/06/21

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The UK has agreed a historic trade deal with Australia that shows what can be achieved by a sovereign trading nation.

This is the first entirely new deal since Brits voted to leave the European Union almost five years ago. It marks a turning point. No longer is an independent trade policy a theoretical opportunity, it is now a practical benefit to Brits.

This deal is a truly comprehensive effort to strengthen relations between two liberal democracies. It will give British consumers access to cheaper Australian wine, swimwear and confectionery. It will give opportunity to UK businesses by removing barriers on exports like cars, Scotch whisky and ceramics into Australia. Cutting customs red tape will make exports and imports easier, cheaper and faster.

Tech and financial services will benefit from easier data flows. There will also be reduced barriers to investment. British firms will find it easier to bid for government contracts in Australia. It will also pave the way for the UK to join the CPTPP – the eleven member Pacific Rim trade deal that includes many key growth economies.

But this isn’t just about business. The deal will link together two peoples separated by the tyranny of distance but bonded by a fundamental kinship. It will be easier for young Brits to live and work in Australia, and vice versa. Professionals like nurses will also no longer need to do additional exams when moving between the UK and Australia.

This is a template setting deal. It puts a stake in the ground for the type of country Britain is becoming: an outward looking, globally trading nation strengthening links with fellow liberal democracies. While the rest of the world turns inward, Britain is going out into the world with a bang. 

This deal would not have been possible if the UK were still part of the EU. Australia has been talking about a trade deal with the EU for decades and began negotiating in 2018. But the AU-EU deal is being made difficult by protectionist interests on the continent. 

Relatively minor issues like whether Australian producers can use the term “feta” to describe white salty cheese – produced by Australians of Greek heritage using traditional methods – have been holding back the deal. It is also difficult to imagine that anywhere near as comprehensive a deal will be signed, particularly in relation to making it easier to work across countries and liberalising goods trade.

Vocal self-interested opposition to the Australia-UK trade deal has been amplified by sections of the media that have never liked the idea of the UK having an independent trade policy. This does not, however, reflect public opinion.

A recent poll from the Adam Smith Institute and CT Group found that two-thirds (65%) back the deal and tiny numbers oppose (5%) – with majority support across all key demographic groups including all nations and English regions and across the political spectrum. 

The opponents of this deal have spent the last few months talking Britain’s global opportunities down. They have asserted that British farmers cannot compete with a small increase in Australian produce. 

This is obvious nonsense: British farmers already compete with tariff and quota-free beef and lamb from the EU. Australian beef, which tends to serve the top of the market, is produced in a separate supply chain to meet UK standards and must travel across the world –– it won’t be so much as a flood of Aussie beef, but a trickle.

The British people make farmers compete with Australia and globally. The ASI/CT Group poll found two-thirds backed a tariff free trade deal (65%) with Australia and would back a deal (63%) even if increased competition reduces profits for British farmers and some might go out of business. 

Unfortunately for British consumers, there will be a 15 year transition period before we can access entirely quota-free Aussie beef on supermarket shelves. Nevertheless, this will give plenty of time for British producers for any change, as minor as it will be, and seek out global opportunities. Indeed, Brits would prefer UK farmers to be given greater opportunities to sell British produce in markets abroad (71%) over being protected from competition (21%).

The UK-Australia deal is not the end. It is the end of the beginning. There are huge opportunities to be grasped by a Global Britain. Out and into a brighter world.