European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hopes to secure a trade deal with Australia when she meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese early Tuesday morning Australian time, according to EU Commission spokesman Olof Gill.
- Von der Leyen is in Australia, where she will meet Prime Minister Albanese very late Monday night Brussels time or very early Tuesday morning Canberra time. The aim is to finalise the details of the deal, says Olof Gill.
The European Commission is thus continuing its work on concluding trade agreements that can make the EU more independent of the United States. According to the European Commission, work on the trade agreements has been "doubled" after the United States imposed additional tariffs on European goods.
The agreement with Australia could also lead to imports of critical raw materials into the EU and a strengthened defence partnership with the world's smallest continent. However, this requires that von der Leyen and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic first succeed in getting the agreement over the finish line:
- If the agreement falls into place, then I can tell you all sorts of good news about the possibilities for exports from the EU. About the possibilities for imports of critical raw materials. About the security and defense partnership and the strengthened relations between the EU and Australia that it will represent, says Olof Gill.
However, the EU Commission has made some preliminary calculations that can say something about the scope of the agreement:
- I can say that according to our projections, an agreement will result in a reduction in tariffs of around one billion euros per year for European exporters. We would expect the EU's exports of goods to Australia to grow by around 33 percent. And there are many other benefits we can expect if we succeed in getting the agreement in place, says Olof Gill.
Further approvals may meet resistance
Von der Leyen's signature on a possible agreement is not enough in itself, however. It requires ratification from the EU countries and the EU Parliament before the agreement is fully in place on the European side. This has previously proven difficult. Some agriculturally-heavy EU countries such as France and Poland have previously fought against trade agreements.
There may also be skepticism in the EU Parliament. Most recently, the EU Parliament has asked the EU Court of Justice to assess the trade agreement that the EU Commission had otherwise concluded with the South American Mercosur countries.
However, Olof Gill is optimistic:
- If we succeed in concluding the agreement, it will bring substantial benefits for EU exporters, for EU consumers and strengthen our relations with a like-minded partner. At the same time, we will ensure that the strongest possible protection for sensitive sectors in the EU is built into the agreement, says Olof Gill.
DI hopes for agreement
CEO of the Confederation of Danish Industry Lars Sandahl Sørensen hopes that it will succeed in achieving its goal. He emphasizes that Danish companies already export around 21 billion kroner annually to Australia.
- When the new trade agreement is fully phased in, tariffs will be removed, technical trade barriers dismantled and access for services will be made easier.
- All of this means that Danish exports are set to increase by around 4.7 billion kroner, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
/ritzau/
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