The UK and Australia have agreed a free trade deal, the first agreement negotiated from scratch after Brexit.
Boris Johnson said the tariff-free deal, which Downing Street said will see British cars, Scotch whisky and biscuits and ceramics become cheaper to sell, marked a "new dawn" in the UK's relationship with Australia.
The prime minister added: "Our new free-trade agreement opens fantastic opportunities for British businesses and consumers, as well as young people wanting the chance to work and live on the other side of the world.
"This is global Britain at its best - looking outwards and striking deals that deepen our alliances and help ensure every part of the country builds back better from the pandemic."
Key points of the deal revealed so far include:
• Britons under the age of 35 will be able to travel and work in Australia more freely
• Tariffs will be eliminated on Australian favourites like Jacob's Creek and Hardys wines, swimwear and confectionery, as well as increasing choice for British consumers and saving households up to £34m annually
• Downing Street said the deal will help distillers by scrapping tariffs of up to 5% on Scotch whisky, while car manufacturers in the Midlands and the North of England will see tariffs of up to 5% cut
• Number 10 said more than 450 businesses in Wales exported to Australia last year and stand to benefit, while "life science companies and chemicals manufacturers are set to benefit in particular"
• It said that in Northern Ireland, 90% of all exports to Australia are "machinery and manufacturing goods used extensively in Australia's mining, quarrying and recycling sectors", and under the deal tariffs will be removed and customs procedures "simplified"
Trade between the UK and Australia was worth £13.9bn in 2020, with the UK ranking as Australia's fifth largest trading partner.
The UK government estimates that the deal will boost Australia's gross domestic product, the total value of goods produced and services provided, by between 0.01% and 0.06%.
Mr Johnson is understood to have agreed the deal over dinner with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison in Downing Street on Monday, with a final agreement in principle due to be published this week.
There was understood to be division among ministers over the terms of the deal last month, with some concerned a tariff and quota free agreement could leave British farmers struggling to compete.
Farming groups had warned that a proposed free trade deal with Australia could imperil livelihoods.
In a bid to allay those fears, Downing Street said that under the deal British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, with other "safeguards" to protect them.
Speaking at Downing Street alongside Mr Morrison on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said he thinks the agreement will lead to "even more trade" between the two nations.
The PM continued: "It will be good news for British car manufacturers, it will be good news for British services, for British financial services and it will be good news for the agricultural sector on both sides.
"Here, we had to negotiate very hard and I want everybody to understand that this is a sensitive sector for both sides and we've got a deal that runs over 15 years and contains the strongest possible provisions for animal welfare.
"But I think it is a good deal and I think it's one that will benefit British farmers and British consumers as well. It will also make it easier for British people, for young people to go and work in Australia."
The deal will also bolster the UK's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Downing Street said.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the £9trn free trade area is "home to some of the biggest consumer markets of the present and future" and joining it will "create unheralded opportunities for our farmers, makers, innovators and investors to do business in the future of engine room of the global economy".
Analysis: Benefits of deal to UK economy are marginal
By Tamara Cohen, political correspondent
Talks going on late into the night. Sealed with an elbow bump outside Number 10, and finally the government can boast that a post-Brexit trade deal has been done.
Boris Johnson and Australian PM Scott Morrison agreed the main elements over dinner last night, and barring any last-minute hitches, an agreement in principle should be signed in the coming days.
This is the first post-Brexit deal to be negotiated entirely from scratch, rather than a "rollover" of deals the UK was part of as an EU member - for example with Canada and Turkey.
The government says British cars, Scotch whisky and confectionery will be cheaper to sell, under plans to eliminate tariffs on all UK goods. And products such as Australian wines cheaper to import.
Young people will have more opportunities to live and work down under.
A major sticking point - which split the cabinet - has been farming, with British beef and lamb farmers concerned they will be undercut by cheaper imports made to lower welfare standards.
The plan unveiled today is that they will be protected by quotas lasting for 15 years. And, Michael Gove said this morning, by the fact that Australia's biggest markets for fresh produce will always be nearer ones in Asia.
While Boris Johnson has called the deal a "new dawn", the benefits to the UK economy are marginal. £14bn a year of trade is done with Australia. The government hopes to boost exports up to £900m - or 0.02% of GDP.
But ministers hope it leads the way to membership of a bigger Asia-Pacific trade bloc, and can turn "Global Britain" from an ambition into action.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiamh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2JvcmlzLWpvaG5zb24taGFpbHMtbmV3LWRhd24tYXMtdWstYW5kLWF1c3RyYWxpYS1hZ3JlZS1mcmVlLXRyYWRlLWRlYWwtMTIzMzI5MzLSAW5odHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvYm9yaXMtam9obnNvbi1oYWlscy1uZXctZGF3bi1hcy11ay1hbmQtYXVzdHJhbGlhLWFncmVlLWZyZWUtdHJhZGUtZGVhbC0xMjMzMjkzMg?oc=5
2021-06-15 09:33:45Z
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