New agreement slashes duty on trade with Australia and New Zealand

MORE than 99 per cent of products from Australia and New Zealand are now UK duty-free.

UK businesses can sell more easily to Australia and New Zealand thanks to the trade deals, the first negotiated from scratch since Brexit.

Under the deals’ terms, tariffs on all UK goods exports to Australia and New Zealand will be removed.

This unlocks unprecedented access to these markets, slashes red tape for digital trade and work visas while reducing prices for favourites with UK consumers.

The deals will deliver an economic boost by driving bilateral trade up by 53 per cent with Australia and 59 per cent with New Zealand, the UK government said.

“Businesses up and down the country can now reap the rewards of our status as an independent trading nation,” Business and Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch aid.

“We can seize new opportunities, driving economic growth, innovation and higher wages.”

Trade between the UK and Australia was worth AU$10 billion (€6.077 billion) in 2022, with two-way services trade amounting to AU$4.4 billion (€2.71 billion) in 2021-22.

The UK is Australia’s twelfth-largest trading partner and second-largest source of foreign direct investment, amounting to more than AU$1 trillion (approximately €6.098 trillion) in 2022.

New Zealand’s trade with the UK, its seventh-largest trading partner, amounts to an annual NZ$1 billion (€2.98 billion).

The UK estimates that the deal will be adding £800 million (€926 million) a year to its gross domestic product although the deal will only bring an annual saving of around £1 (€1.16) to UK families.