Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent progress she has made towards securing a free trade agreement with Australia.
Strengthening and enhancing our bilateral trading relationship with Australia is a key priority for the Government. The third round of negotiations for a UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took place between 23rd November and 4th December where negotiators completed around 50 discussions, spanning the breadth of the FTA.
Both sides exchanged their initial tariffs offers – this early milestone reflects the momentum behind these negotiations. Negotiators are in the process of consolidating texts in several chapter areas.
The fourth round of negotiations will start on 22nd February 2021.