Brexit: Great Britain signs free trade agreement with Australia

The UK has signed a free trade agreement with Australia to benefit consumers and businesses. It is described as the first deal to be renegotiated entirely after Brexit and has not been "altered" by the UK's trade terms in the EU.

The government expects to free up £10.4 billion in additional trade while removing tariffs on all UK exports. However, some British farmers have voiced concerns that cheap imports could harm them. The government says the deal is also a gateway to the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region and will strengthen Britain's efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the world's largest free trade areas.

Australia also praised its second-largest trade deal with any other country.

"This is a truly historic agreement – ​​this is a real free trade agreement. Everyone wins," started Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan. The agreement, signed by Foreign Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan in a virtual ceremony, is expected to enter into force next year.

Trevelyan described it as "a spectacular moment in the historic and vital relationship between our two countries in the Commonwealth of Nations." It demonstrates what the UK can achieve as an "agile, independent and sovereign trading nation," he added.

In an interview with the, he denied speculation that the deal would hurt British farmers. He said the agreement had "unequivocal guarantees" and "clear tariff quotas for the first ten years," as well as "a comprehensive protection mechanism."

"Australia sends around 70% of its beef and goat to the Asia-Pacific region," he said. Free trade agreements promote trade - usually in goods, but sometimes also in services - by making them cheaper. This is often achieved by lowering or eliminating government tariffs or fees on cross-border trade in goods.

The trade agreement also aims to remove quotas that limit the amount of goods that can be traded.

Trading can also be simplified if the parties have the same rules, such as the color of the wires in the plugs. The stricter the rules, the less likely the goods will be inspected.