Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) have started negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Negotiations for the Australia-UK FTA were launched on 17 June 2020 in a joint statement by the Hon Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, and his UK counterpart, the Rt Hon Liz Truss.
An FTA between Australia and the UK will build on the existing strengths in two-way trade and investment and support post-COVID economic recovery in both countries.
Investors from the UK were Australia’s second-largest source of foreign investment in 2019 and the UK was the second-largest destination for Australian investors.
In 2019, the UK stock in Australia was valued at $686 billion and foreign direct investment (FDI) totalled $127 billion. Australian foreign investment stock in the UK was valued at $509 billion and FDI at $143 billion.
The first round of negotiations for the FTA commenced on 29 June virtually.
Investors and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide submissions to inform the negotiation process.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has more information on the Australia-UK FTA, including a benefits fact sheet.
