Britain yesterday unveiled a major free-trade agreement with Australia as London pursues efforts to strike new deals since leaving the EU.
It follows similar UK trade deals with Japan and the EU following London’s divorce with Brussels.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the latest agreement “marks a new dawn in the UK’s relationship with Australia, underpinned by ... shared history and common values.”
Photo: Reuters
“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,” he added in a statement.
Speaking later at a Downing Street press conference alongside Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Johnson said more trade agreements would follow.
“This is ... a prelude to further deals,” Johnson told reporters.
Morrison praised the “foundational partnership” that would strengthen economic links and boost cooperation between the two nations.
British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab wrote on Twitter that the deal was “an important stepping stone” in efforts to join a massive free-trade zone in the Indo-Pacific region — the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The deal eliminates tariffs on UK exports, with a final agreement in principle to be published in the coming days, the government said.
The UK-Australia trade relationship was worth ￡13.9 billion (US$19.6 billion) last year and would grow under the deal, it added in a statement.
Canberra and London also plan to “intensify cooperation on security, climate change and science and tech,” the UK government said.
The deal eliminates tariffs on imported Australian goods, such as wine, swimwear and confectionery goods, it said.
Going the other way, British products, including cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics, would be cheaper to sell in Australia.
It comes after the two addressed issues surrounding the farming sector.
British farmers would be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, using tariff-rate quotas and other safeguards.
“We are also supporting agricultural producers to increase their exports overseas, including to new markets in the Indo-Pacific” region, the British government said.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
RSS