Free trade deal between EU and Australia collapses

Free trade deal between EU and Australia collapses

Free trade talks with the EU have collapsed over market access for Australian agricultural produce such as beef
Free trade talks with the EU have collapsed over market access for Australian agricultural produce such as beef. Photo: WILLIAM WEST / AFP/File
Source: AFP

A free trade deal between the European Union and Australia has unravelled despite early optimism, with Canberra saying Monday it could take years until negotiations resume.

Since 2018 the painstaking discussions have picked through everything from chemicals to cosmetics, but have repeatedly come unstuck over market access for Australian products such as beef and sheep meat.

Australian agriculture minister Murray Watt said EU negotiators had refused to budge during the latest round of talks, held on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Japan.

"Unfortunately we just didn't get the movement on the EU side that was required," he told national broadcaster ABC on Monday.

Watt said it was unlikely talks would resume during "this current term of parliament" -- indicating the Australian government may not return to the negotiating table until after the 2025 general election.

Read also

Panama bans new mining deals, but fails to quell protests

"I think it will be quite some time before any Australian government or any EU leadership is able to negotiate a deal. And that's a bit of a shame," Watt added.

A European Commission spokesperson said it had been optimistic of striking a deal in Osaka, but that Australia had "re-tabled agricultural demands that did not reflect recent negotiations".

"The European Commission stands ready to continue negotiations," the commission said in a statement.

French trade minister Olivier Becht late last week flagged a "number of very positive advances", raising hopes that an agreement would be reached.

The two sides have tussled over how far Europe should prise open its markets to Australia's sheep meat, beef and sugar exports.

At the same time, Europe wants better access to Australia's rich deposits of "critical minerals", easing its reliance on Russia and China for the key ingredients in clean-energy products such as wind turbines and electric car batteries.

Read also

Markets rise on tech bounce hope, inflation in focus

In July, the two parties failed to reach a deal during talks in Brussels, with Australia saying it had not been guaranteed "significant" access to the European market for its agricultural products.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.