Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement Roadshow

As we approach the first anniversary of entry into force of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, the Agent General and representatives from the UK Office were pleased to join the UK High Commissioner to Australia, the UK Ambassador to Australia, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for APAC, and the UK’s Department for Business and Trade in their UK roadshow exploring the opportunities available through the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement.

In a ten-day expedition, the travelling delegation visited; Birmingham, Belfast, London, Cardiff, Manchester and Dundee to spruik the unrivalled opportunities for enhancing trade, investment, mobility and strategic relations, made available through the FTA.

While it can be easy to think of the United Kingdom as London, it is clear that there are so many opportunities across the regions. Just days before the UK Government roadshow, the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Hon Stephen Smith, visited Birmingham and Manchester along with the Agents General to engage with key stakeholders, including the Mayors of each City. For Western Australia, the North provides significant opportunities across our priority economic sectors, including health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing and skills and knowledge exchange, and this office looks forward to advancing those opportunities.

Not only did the roadshow provide an opportunity for our office to establish new connections with business and key industry leads across the regions, it also provided us with an opportunity to detail the support available to businesses looking to establish in Western Australia. Trade and Investment Manager, Claire Toms had the opportunity to join the Victorian Agent General Tim Dillon and Mr Paul Webster in a panel session facilitated and moderated by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner to APAC, Martin Kent.

This year we have seen the forging of a strengthened relationship between the United Kingdom and Australia underpinned by key agreements including the Free Trade Agreement and the AUKUS agreement. While these agreements act as catalysts to advance strategic ties across our nations, it is the implementation and active alignment and uptake of these agreements which will be fundamental to the success of the agreements. This office has seen a growth in enquiries from businesses looking to leverage the provisions under the FTA and is available to support all Western Australian businesses as they seek to navigate and leverage the provisions within these agreements.