The UK and Australia have reached a consensus on the “vast majority” of the elements of a comprehensive free trade agreement, the Department for International Trade said on Friday.
Truss said “major breakthroughs” have been made and “an agreement is now in sight.”
“This is a deal that will deliver for Britain and all parts of our economy. It is a win-win for both nations. It is a fundamentally liberalising agreement that will support jobs across the country and help us emerge stronger from the pandemic, strengthening ties between two democracies who share a fierce belief in freedom, enterprise, and fair play.
“We will spend the next few weeks ironing out details and resolving outstanding issues, with a view to reaching a deal by June,” she said.
According to official estimates, a UK-Australia free trade agreement could add £500 million ($692 million) to British economic output over the long term.
Britain is pursuing a deal with Australia as one of the pillars of its post-Brexit strategy to build stronger commercial and diplomatic links in the Indo-Pacific region.
The UK government said CPTPP membership would “deepen the UK’s access to fast-growing markets and major economies, including Mexico, Malaysia, and Vietnam, for the benefit of UK business.”
UK trade with the group was worth £111 billion ($152 billion) in 2019, the government said.
The figure is dwarfed by Britain’s trade with the European Union. In 2019, the UK exported to the EU £294 billion ($403 billion) worth of goods and services, and its imports from the EU amounted to £374 billion ($513 billion).
The UK exited the EU’s single market and customs union on Dec. 31, 2020, when the Brexit transition period ended.
