Yahoo Finance Australia opens door to UK joining Trans-Pacific trade pact after Brexit
Australia is keen to seal a new UK trade deal after Brexit – but only if Theresa May walks away from the customs union.
Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, said Canberra would be open to the UK joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) regional trade group after it leaves the European Union in March 2019.
She also said she was also committed to “greater visa access” after Brexit day.
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“We would of course welcome interest from an economy the size of Britain’s,” she said in response to a question about Britain joining the TPP.
“Australia is very keen to pursue a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. I think that would be precluded if the United Kingdom were to rejoin the customs union.”
Bishop said Australia would want to secure rights for its citizens to work in Britain as part of any deal.
One of the most contentious issues facing Theresa May and her Brexit team is how to position the UK with Europe.
There has been much debate over whether Britain will sign up to the customs union, remain a paying member of the single market or walk away totally.
Brexiters insist the referendum result delivered a sound rejection of the EU and to continue to pay for any form of access would be a betrayal of that.
But the EU says leaving the union would inevitably mean customs check on the Northern Ireland border, among other political and economic roadblocks.
Bishop said Australia was keen to pursue a bilateral free trade agreement with Britain, when the timing was right.
But any bilateral deal – which she described as “our national interest, our priority” – could only happen if Britain quit the customs union.
“In this time of transition for the United Kingdom, I’m here to assure, perhaps reassure you that Australia is a willing and trusted partner for the United Kingdom, and that we see many opportunities for our already close relationship to deepen and broaden in a post-Brexit world,” she said.
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The 11 TPP countries – which include Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia as well as Singapore – are due to sign their agreement in March.
US President Donald Trump pulled his nation out of the group soon after taking office, but he said in January that Washington might yet stay in.
