UK to Begin Free Trade Deal Negotiations with Australia and New Zealand

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The UK is set to begin negotiations on post-Brexit free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, the Guardian reported Wednesday.

In a statement Wednesday, Australian trade minister Simon Birmingham said: “We’ve been preparing for this deal since the UK decided to leave the EU and welcome their agreement to commence negotiations.” Australia is “ready to help the UK find new beginnings post-Brexit and in doing so, open up new doors for our farmers, businesses and investors,” Birmingham said.

Birmingham added that he hoped a UK-Australia deal could be negotiated “as quickly as possible” and that it would be “an ambitious and comprehensive agreement that builds on our already significant people-to-people links and creates new opportunities for exporters, generating more jobs in our nations.”

In agreement with Birmingham, New Zealand’s trade minister David Parker said: “As the UK embarks on its next steps post-Brexit, New Zealand is pleased to be among the first countries to negotiate a trade agreement with one of our oldest friends.” Parker added that the UK and New Zealand have “a close relationship, including strong trade and economic ties, common values and traditions and a shared history.”

Parker said New Zealand-UK talks would center on “removal of trade tariffs, new approaches to non-tariff barriers, streamlined customs, regulatory cooperation, development of digital trade and trade provisions in support of sustainable development – including climate change,” the Guardian reported.

The UK is Australia’s seventh largest trading partner, and New Zealand’s sixth.

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