Australia has a significant and unique relationship with the UK, underpinned by shared heritage, common values, historic people-to-people links and advanced, open economies. On the 17th of December 2021, The UK and Australia signed a historic trade deal, the UK’s first ‘from scratch’ trade agreement to be finalised since the UK’s departure from the EU. The trade agreement set new global standards in digital and services and will create new work and travel opportunities for Brits and Australians alike.
Known as the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA), the deal is expected to unlock £10.4 billion of additional trade, boosting our economy and increasing wages across the UK, while eliminating tariffs on most UK exports. It will provide increased access to Australia for the UK’s powerhouse service sectors and will include cutting-edge agreements in areas where the UK is already a word leader, including in the digital and technology sectors. It will strengthen diversification and allow for mutually beneficial business opportunities, in a time where the global economy is attempting to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With other news highlights taking precedence across social media and news outlets in current times, the news regarding the Australian-UK trade deal can go completely unnoticed. If you missed it too, here’s a rundown of the top ten key benefits of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement:
The A-UKFTA deal will remove tariffs on £4.3bn of exports, making it cheaper to sell iconic British products like cars, Scotch Whisky, and ceramics to the Australian market. This will support industries that employ over 3.5 million people in the UK. Specifically, car manufacturers in the North of England and the Midlands will benefit.
The elimination of the tariffs on classic Australian products will not only provide a larger choice for British consumers but will also save British households up to £34mn a year. British manufacturers will also benefit from cheaper imports of vital parts and ingredients from Australia.
Brits younger than 35 will have increased opportunities to travel and work in Australia more freely, opening exciting opportunities for young people. Australian firms will no longer mandatorily prioritise hiring Australian nationals first and highly skilled professional Brits will now be able to work in Australia temporarily.
UK Lawyers will now be able to practice in Australia without having to requalify in Australian law. The deal will help expedite the recognition of UK professional qualifications across many sectors, creating increased opportunities for UK professionals while allowing British companies to attract and retain global talent.
The A-UKFTA deal will create additional opportunities for the UK’s digital and tech sectors, preparing the UK and Australia to lead in industries of the future like space exploration, artificial intelligence, and low emissions technology. The gold standard deal will facilitate the free flow of data, saving UK businesses from the cost of setting up servers in Australia and vice-versa, whilst maintaining personal data protections standards for British consumers and Australian consumers alike.
In 2020, the UK exported £5.4bn worth of services to Australia which accounted for just over 56% of our total exports to Australia. The combined effect of the deal’s provisions will allow Australian and UK service professionals access to each other’s markets and reduce current barriers to investment which will give a significant boost to the UK’s service sectors.
The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between 11 countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The agreement removes 95 per cent of tariffs between its members.
Australia strongly supports the UK membership of CPTPP, which will further open up 11 large Pacific markets worth over £9 trillion GDP. CPTPP membership will secure British exports enhanced access to these growing markets.
Australia is a like-minded democracy that shares the UK’s beliefs in free enterprise, rules of law, and high industrial standards in areas like the environment, gender equality, animal welfare and labour rights. The A-UKFTA deal will uphold all of these high standards and will foster collaboration on challenges like tackling unfair trading practices and tackling the impacts of climate change.
British companies will now be capable of bidding for additional Australian government contracts worth billions of pounds. It is the most substantial level of access Australia has ever granted in a free trade agreement, creating new opportunities for UK firms specifically in transport and financial services.
Red tape and bureaucracy will be removed for more than 13,000 small businesses across the UK who already export goods to Australia, pre-A-UKFTA. The agreement promises to deliver quicker export times and ensures small business will have access to new intelligence that will allow them to seize the opportunities created by the deal.
The new trade agreement is looking to be particularly lucrative for small and medium-sized Australian enterprises that are looking to break into the UK market. To support equivalent international trade for all SMEs, including businesses that employ indigenous people in a position of leadership, both the UK and Australia will allow access to any information that can assist investment trade and opportunities between both countries.
Any Australian business looking to begin trading, or are already trading, in the UK will benefit from the support of an expert 3PL and logistics company like Cloud9 Fulfilment.
We are experts in order fulfilment and are up to date with all the latest changes across the international ecommerce landscape. We will ensure your stock is stored, packed, and shipped in accordance with A-UKFTA rules and regulations. Give us a call now to find out more.
We look forward to hearing from you soon. Let us know what you think of the new A-UKFTA deal in the comment section down below.
From The Team @ Cloud9 x
