ZCZC
BCN-31
AUSTRALIA-US-BRITAIN-TRADE
Demise of trade deal between U.S., Britain could benefit Australia: trade
minister
CANBERRA, July 14, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The possible collapse of trade
between the United States and Britain could benefit Australia, said
Australian government, local media reported Saturday.
Steven Ciobo, Australia’s minister for trade, tourism and investment,
suggested that Australian exporters would reap the rewards if the United
States killed off a trade deal with the Britain as declared by U.S. President
Donald Trump earlier in July.
During a visit to Britain, Trump told local press that British Prime
Minister Theresa May’s “soft Brexit” plan would “kill” any potential trade
deal between the countries.
Ciobo on Saturday agreed with assessments that Trump’s declaration weakened
Britain’s trade position and gave Australian businesses exporting to Britain
a market advantage.
“Clearly, if Australia has a comprehensive high quality Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) with the UK, that gives Australian exporters a market
advantage over those that don’t have a comprehensive FTA with the UK post
Brexit,” he told News Corp Australia on Saturday.
Ciobo said that while Australia would continue to pursue a free trade
agreement with Britain, it was possible that a future Brexit agreement could
rule out the deal.
“Australia will seek a high-quality comprehensive FTA with the UK assuming
that Brexit provides for that outcome — it will either do that or it won’t,”
he said.
“Let’s see what the final composition of the deal is like. Anything ahead
of that is speculation.”
Giovanni Di Lieto, a trade expert from Monash University, agreed that
Trump’s comments were good news for Australia.
“(This) weakens the UK position even further, and plays in(to) Australia’s
hands as well. Because we are not so big, we can play with a historically
optimal bargaining position with the UK,” he said.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1455