The UK's trade deals with Australia and New Zealand come into effect today.
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From today, UK businesses will be able to sell to Australia and New Zealand more easily as the UK’s trade deals with the countries, the first negotiated from scratch since we left the EU, come into force.
Under the deals’ beneficial terms tariffs on all UK goods exports to Australia and New Zealand will be removed, unprecedented access to these markets for services unlocked, and red tape slashed for digital trade and work visas.
Each region and nation of the UK is expected to benefit. Tailored to the UK’s strengths, the deals are set to deliver an economic boost by driving bilateral trade up by 53% with Australia and 59% with New Zealand.
The agreements could also mean reduced prices for UK consumers on favourites such as wine, Tim Tams and kiwi fruit and lowered costs on machinery parts for UK manufacturers.
The announcement comes after the UK, Australia and New Zealand completed their domestic ratification processes, allowing the deals to enter into force. In the UK this required primary legislation in the form of the Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill.
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said: "Today is a historic moment as our first trade deals to be negotiated post-Brexit come into effect.
"Businesses up and down the country will now be able to reap the rewards of our status as an independent trading nation and seize new opportunities, driving economic growth, innovation and higher wages."
International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston will tour DHL’s Southern Distribution Centre near Heathrow to see off two handpicked consignments of UK goods, some of the first to be sent to Australia and New Zealand under the new deals.
Iconic British goods from across the country including signed Beano comics, Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky, Brighton Gin, The Cambridge Satchel Co. bags and Fever-Tree mixers are all among the items which will be sent from the UK government to the Australian and New Zealand trade ministers.
Many of the items included will benefit from the removal of tariffs under the deals.
The parcels will also include an England cricket top signed by James Anderson and Emma Lamb, a Wales rugby shirt signed by the men’s team and a real tennis racket from Gray’s of Cambridge.
Alongside the new trade agreement with Australia, more young Brits will benefit from life-changing opportunities Down Under thanks to the expansion of our shared Youth Mobility and Working Holiday Maker visa schemes.
On 1 July 2023 the age limit for UK applicants going to Australia will go from 30 to 35 years old, and from 1 July 2024 Brits will be able to stay in Australia for up to three years without having to meet specified work requirements.
The consignments will be sent via express air freight with DHL, which is accelerating to low carbon operations with a commitment to reach zero emissions logistics by 2050 globally.
Moving more than 100,000 shipments per day for UK businesses, Australia, New Zealand and other CPTPP countries are popular markets, with expectations for continued growth.
Both free trade agreements are also part of the UK’s strategic tilt to the Indo-Pacific region and complement our accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – a huge trade bloc which will have a total GDP of £12 trillion once we join.
The deals include robust protections for British farmers, including staging tariff liberalisation for sensitive goods over time. ■
Under an intense surge of arctic air, Friday morning will begin with the coldest temperatures so far this season across much of the central and eastern U.S. with blustery conditions and a piercing wind chill.