CANBERRA, Nov 18 (NNN-AAP) – Australia’s Parliament is set to ratify the free trade agreement (FTA) with Britain, after a key committee approved it.
The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties yesterday released its report on the FTA, concluding it would help Australia liberalise and diversify its trade with Britain.
Under the deal, which the two countries signed in 2021, 99 percent of Australian goods including beef, dairy and sugar will enter Britain duty free.
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, met with his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, to discuss the deal on the fringes of the G20 Summit in Indonesia, and said, he was hoping it would come into effect in the first quarter of 2023.
Don Farrell, Australia’s trade minister, said that, parliament will vote to ratify the deal before the end of this month, with the Opposition expected to offer “full support.”
In addition to liberalising trade, Farrell said, the Australia-UK FTA includes measures designed to increase the mobility of skilled workers and young people in both directions.– NNN-AAP
