Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of a free trade agreement with Australia on (a) Ceredigion and (b) Wales.
The economic analysis, published on 17 June 2020, seeks to identify the potential scale of the long-term additional benefit to the UK from having a deal with Australia.
This deal is for the whole union. The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Scoping Assessment found that Wales benefits in all modelled scenarios. Top Welsh goods exports to Australia, including medicinal and pharmaceutical products, currently face tariffs of up to 5%, and will benefit from the liberalisation of tariffs on these products. Welsh foods and drinks producers will also benefit from the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers.
DIT is establishing a trade hub in Wales as part of a new strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK. Providing exporters with a direct feed into UK trade policy, to take better advantage of opportunities in fast-growing markets like the Indo-Pacific region.