Australia to Start Free-Trade Negotiations With EU
- The EU market worth $17.3 trillion, covers 500 million people
- Australian officials to meet EU trade commissioner next month
Shipping containers sit stacked among gantry cranes at Terminal 3 of Port Botany in Sydney..
Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg
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Australia will begin negotiations with the European Union on a free-trade agreement covering a market with 500 million people and worth $17.3 trillion, making it one of the country’s biggest potential deals.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government will start negotiations with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom in Brussels next month to secure better access for Australian agricultural products, Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said in an emailed statement. Trade on commodities including beef, sheep meat, sugar, cheese and rice are “significantly constrained” by EU tariffs.