UK-Australia free trade agreement: Economist Saul Eslake calls for agriculture priority in trade talks
One of Australia’s leading economists says Canberra needs to get on the front foot for agriculture in its free trade talks with London ahead of the UK leaving the European Union.
AUSTRALIA’S trade relationship with Great Britain needs to get back to the pre-Common Market days, a top economist says.
Long-standing trade ties were cut by the Heath Government in the early 1970s when it signed the UK up to the European Economic Community, later known as the European Union.
With British voters opting to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum, economist Saul Eslake said the Johnson Government was keen to secure a quick deal with Canberra.
“We should get the same access for our agricultural products into the UK as we did pre-1973,” the independent economist said.
“Australia’s core demand in a negotiations for a free-trade agreement, which is really something the British want, is restoring Australian agriculture’s trading position.
“The trouble is that I don’t think the Conservative Party will agree to that because a lot of their support comes from protected farmers.”
The Tasmanian-based economist said Canberra needed to advocate strongly for opening up trade channels to London, which had been blocked by Brussels for a generation.
“Having grown up in Tasmania, something I was particularly conscious of was Tasmania’s reputation as the Apple Isle was hung on selling fruit to the UK,” he said.
“When you think of the things that Australia exports, the British aren’t going to buy iron ore, or coal, copper, or LNG, or zinc, or aluminium. We’re not really an exporter of manufactured good, although we have a presence in pharmaceuticals. So what it’s really about for Australia is agriculture and we need to secure the strongest possible deal for our farmers.”
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