CANBERRA, Oct 30 (NNN-AAP) – The Australian government has walked away from a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), after failing to make progress in negotiations.
Don Farrell, Australia’s minister for trade and tourism, yesterday said that, following talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) trade minister meeting in Osaka, Japan, no deal has been reached on the FTA.
Farrell said in a statement that, he travelled to Osaka with the intention of finalising a deal with the EU that would benefit Australian businesses, producers, workers and consumers.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to make progress. Negotiations will continue, and I am hopeful that one day we will sign a deal that will benefit Australians and our European friends,” local media quoted him as saying.
Prior to departing for Japan, Farrell described the negotiations as the “end game” for the FTA, ahead of EU elections in 2024, which he said could put talks on hold for several years.
Australia’s decision to walk away from negotiations, which began in 2018, comes, after Farrell, in July, rejected the EU’s proposed deal due to a disagreement over the liberalisation of agricultural trade and EU import quotas for Australian beef, sheep meat, dairy products and sugar.
Earlier this month, the peak body representing Australia’s agriculture industry, the National Farmers’ Federation, urged the government not to sign a deal with the EU, unless major improvements were negotiated for farmers, saying, the EU proposal would put them at a disadvantage for “the next half-century.”
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the EU is Australia’s third-largest two-way trading partner and second-largest source of foreign investment.– NNN-AAP
