Australia already has FTAs with four of its top five trading partners – China, Japan, the US and South Korea.
An FTA with the EU – which comprises 22.5% of world GDP – would be a significant addition to Australia’s network of bilateral and regional FTAs which support exports and jobs in Australia.
While the EU is not as significant a market for Australian mining exports as the economies of East Asia, coal, gold and lead are amongst Australia’s largest goods exports to the EU, worth around AUS$8.8 billion in 2017.
The EU has relatively low tariffs on most resources commodities. However, there are a number of minerals and metals commodities where it imposes tariffs of up to 9%, including aluminium, lead, zinc, titanium and antimony.
An Australia-EU FTA provides an opportunity to remove these tariffs on Australian resources exports.
Australian mining could also benefit from reductions in Australian tariffs on European mining-related equipment and manufactures such as machinery, heavy vehicles and chemicals.
The FTA negotiations will also focus on services, investment, and business regulation – areas where there are opportunities to enhance the wider economic relationship between Australia and the EU.
