Brexit: UK-Australia trade deal could be agreed fairly soon, says high commissioner

Britain and Australia need each other more than ever at this time of acute global tension, the Australian high commissioner said as the two sides launch trade talks.

The UK is also kicking off trade negotiations with New Zealand on Wednesday in a new era for British diplomacy outside the European Union.

Australian high commissioner George Brandis told Sky News a free trade agreement (FTA) with London is a “top priority” for Canberra and signalled one could be agreed “fairly soon”.

But the bond is more than a business opportunity.

It is also about helping one another stand up for shared values like democracy and the rule of law in the face of challenges from rising powers like China, the top diplomat said.

“At a time when there are tensions in the world that are growing more acute – and which have been dramatised and thrown in very stark relief by the COVID crisis – the benefit, the importance to each other of like-minded, free-trading liberal democracies like Britain and Australia has never been greater,” the high commissioner told Sky News.

Both countries are part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance along with the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

It is a forum that looks set to have increased prominence as Western allies struggle against the authoritarian tendencies of rivals like China, Russia and Iran.

“We live in an increasingly difficult, contested world and like-minded nations – people who see the world through similar eyes with similar values like commitment to democracy, liberal societies and freedom – increasingly need to co-operate against potential adversaries”, Mr Brandis said.

“In so many different ways – whether it is strategic co-operation, diplomatic co-operation, intelligence sharing, and in trade – countries like Britain and Australia find that we are more bound together.

“Our interests and our values are more closely wound up together than has ever been the case before.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison should have travelled to the UK this week to meet Boris Johnson in person to kick off the trade talks.

But the coronavirus pandemic derailed those plans. Instead the two men are set to speak via video conference.

A key part of the UK plan for life after Brexit is founded on boosting exports to the Indo-Pacific region – set to be the centre of global economic growth this century.

Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, said UK businesses traded £29bn in goods and services with Australia and New Zealand last year.

“Pivoting towards the Asia-Pacific will diversify our trade, increase the resilience of our supply chains and ensure the UK is less vulnerable to political and economic shocks in certain parts of the world,” she said.