UK announces the launch of free trade agreement negotiations with Australia and New Zealand

A UK-Australia FTA will be ambitious and comprehensive. It will be a modern agreement with best-practice trade rules on emerging and increasingly important issues. It will include outcomes that benefit the small and medium-sized enterprises who already sell goods and services between our countries, as well as encouraging more to do so. It will also contribute to economic growth and job creation, drive increased two-way trade in goods and services (worth £18.1bn in 2019), and encourage two-way investment.

A UK-New Zealand FTA will be ambitious, comprehensive, future-focused, and will support sustainable and inclusive trade. By removing tariffs and tackling non-tariff barriers, the agreement will reduce costs for exporters and consumers, support job creation, innovation and collaboration, and boost two-way trade in goods and services worth £2.9bn in 2019.

With shared ambition in leading the global fight against climate change, we also see a UK-New Zealand FTA supporting our respective targets to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

These FTAs will also serve as a framework for an even stronger economic partnership as the UK seeks to expand its already close relationships in the Asia-Pacific. Australia and New Zealand are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and welcome the UK’s intention to join this group of committed free trading nations. Collectively CPTPP members represented 13% of global GDP in 2018. The UK is determined to turbocharge its economic activity through membership.