Canberra (AFP) – European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday as talks to strike a trade pact enter their “last mile” after years of negotiations. Von der Leyen’s visit to Australia, accompanied by trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, comes as the 27-nation bloc and the import-reliant nation navigate renewed energy vulnerability sparked by the war in the Middle East. She met Albanese on Tuesday in Canberra and will address parliament later in the day.
The trade accord would be the latest inked by Brussels in a push to diversify trade as Europe faces challenges from the United States and China. “Clearly there is mutual interest, and a positive hunger from both economic communities for having this new framework,” Sefcovic said. “The goal is to tie down the final details,” commission spokesman Olof Gill told a press conference in Brussels, cautioning that “the last mile is the hardest.” Improved access to the EU market for Australia’s lamb and beef — a big no-no for some European farmers — is understood to be among the last sticking points. Australia’s luxury car tax on European vehicles is another.
Australia’s largest export market is China, and the United States is its largest source of investment. But Canberra has redoubled efforts to diversify export markets for farmers since a 2020 dispute with Beijing saw agriculture exports blocked for several years, and last year’s global imposition of US trade tariffs. Likewise, the European Union is on a drive to strike new partnerships in the face of US levies and Chinese export controls. The bloc, which is seeking greater access to Australia’s critical raw materials, is the resource-rich country’s third largest two-way trading partner and second largest source of foreign investment. A deal could boost EU exports to Australia by more than 30 percent and save exporters about one billion euros a year ($1.15 billion), Brussels said.
– Middle East in focus –
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said this month that a pact would add Aus$10 billion (US$7.1 billion) in trade for Australia in the first year. “They are potentially our second largest trading partner if we can pull this off,” he told Sky News Australia. Front and centre in meetings will also likely be the war in the Middle East, which has sent oil prices soaring. In Canberra, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned Monday that the world faced an energy crisis not seen in decades if the conflict was not resolved. And von der Leyen this month said the conflict had served as a “stark reminder” of Europe’s vulnerabilities. Australia — which is heavily reliant on fuel from abroad — has also felt the pressure from the global energy squeeze.
© 2024 AFP
