Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell has announced plans to restart negotiations with the European Union on a free trade agreement.
The statement comes in the wake of the United States imposing new customs tariffs.
I had a warm and productive meeting with my European counterpart, during which we agreed to accelerate the process of resuming free trade talks, Farrell said in an interview with the Nightly newspaper.
According to him, the meeting with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič took place on Tuesday evening. The two sides agreed to launch a new phase of negotiations immediately after Australia’s federal elections, scheduled for May 3.
Talks between Australia and the EU initially began in 2018 but were suspended in 2021 following a diplomatic rift between Canberra and Paris, triggered by the signing of the AUKUS defense agreement with the US and the UK, which included plans for building nuclear-powered submarines.
In 2022, after a change of government in Australia, dialogue with the EU resumed, but no concrete agreements have been reached since. One of the main obstacles remains the limited access of certain Australian goods to the EU market due to non-compliance with labeling and trademark standards.
