“I’ve gained a strong sense of encouragement from the Australian Government’s strong show of support for our trade and investment communities, and equally a strengthened commitment from those we’ve met based here in the United Kingdom to support the bi-lateral relationship.” said Mr McCredie.
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It follows his comments last month that it was “vital” the WSTA influences “a carefully devised government strategy to ensure that the right trade deals are struck for our complex, global market quickly and according to the right priorities”.
“Australia will do us a trade deal!”
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and his counterpart Steven Ciobo said they shared a “strong political commitment” to trade liberalisation.
“[Australia] is sending such strong signals to the United Kingdom … but the EU-Australia free trade deal negotiations were pushed for by Britain, and a lot of the other countries aren’t particularly anxious if it happens or not”, he said.
“I made the passing quip to Secretary Fox that if we were going to have negotiations with Australia they would go very smoothly if it was Australians on both sides of the table”, he added.
According to its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the United Kingdom was responsible for 7.1 billion Australian dollars ($5.5 billion) in imported goods and $5.6 billion in imported services in 2015.
Despite the United Kingdom being unable to agree trade deals with other countries until it has officially left the European Union, a group has been set up to help prepare for possible deals in India.
“My formal advice is that, and this is from the United Kingdom side, the United Kingdom is unable to negotiate or sign an agreement prior to the formal exit from the EU”, Ciobo told the programme.
The Australian government has cooled expectations of a swift trade deal with the United Kingdom despite an upbeat meeting between the country’s two prime ministers.
“We would be keen to see an outcome of Brexit being tighter controls on New Zealand lamb being allowed into this country, and we certainly need to avoid making the situation worse by allowing Australian product to head our way too”.
He also said that given the EU’s trade surplus with Britain, it would be in their interests to maintain “a very open free trading environment” with Britain following its exit from the bloc.
Speaking in Hangzhou, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull referred to the 23 June referendum in the United Kingdom in favour of leaving the European Union as a “momentous and historic choice”.
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The Prime Minister has distanced herself from Brexit Secretary David Davis’s suggestion that it is “very improbable” the United Kingdom can remain part of the European single market if it wishes to regain control over its own borders. What we look at in terms of our relationship with the United Kingdom now from a trade perspective, as they go about exiting the European Union, is to be mindful of the fact that they are exiting’. “I hope you can improve on recent performances”.
