The Australian federal government is not letting recent trade troubles with China or the COVID-19 pandemic stop it from finding new avenues for trade markets.
Speaking to The Epoch Times on May 29, trade minister Simon Birmingham said, “I’m confident demand for Australian goods and services will be even stronger when we come out the other side of this pandemic, and the government is committed to helping businesses develop export opportunities and connections. ”
Trade With United Kingdom
On May 28, Australia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom George Brandis announced that Australia would enter into negotiations with the UK to create a “gold-standard” free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.Speaking to AAP on May 28, Brandis said that Australia and the UK’s trade ministers have said the countries were “ambitious” to conclude the agreement.
“Our negotiations will get underway soon, and we are confident in doing a deal that creates more jobs and economic opportunity,” said Brandis.
Trade With India
The announcement of FTA negotiations with the UK comes after the prime minister’s department flagged upcoming talks with India as another trading partner.A spokesperson for the prime minister told AAP on May 20 that Australia would also pursue deeper economic ties with India at the upcoming virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 4.
“Australia and India are natural partners with deep people-to-people links,” a spokesman for Morrison said.
The Morrison government will also seek a new education partnership to overcome Australia’s reliance on Chinese university students.
Trade with the EU
Minister for Trade Simon Birmingham has also been hard at work negotiating the Australian-European Union Free Trade Agreement (AusEUFTA).Writing on Twitter on May 18, Birmingham noted that it was great to make progress on the ambitious and comprehensive AusEUFTA.
Trade With Japan
Birmingham also met with Japan’s Minister for Trade Kajiyama Hiroshi on May 18 to discuss trade and regional cooperation. Writing on Twitter, Birmingham said Australia and Japan share a commitment to open, rules-based trade and regional cooperation.Australia and Japan are both set to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement with 13 other states, including China in 2020.
Trade With Indonesia
On May 7, DFAT announced that the new free trade agreement with Indonesia (IA-CEPA) would be coming into effect on July 5.Indonesia is one of the fastest-growing economies in the region with DFAT noting there are predictions it will be the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2030.