The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is looking for service traders’ input on their experiences with importing and exporting to Australia and New Zealand.
Under the UK’s trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, several committees have been established to monitor and implement parts of the various agreements.
Ahead of the meetings of the service and investment committees taking place next year, DBT is looking for traders to share their experiences of working under the new rules:
“To continue to make a success of these agreements and secure long-term value for businesses, the UK government needs the proactive input and feedback from businesses on the ground about how the agreement is working in practice.”
Resolving problems
DBT says it will work with businesses to resolve any ongoing issues when trading under both deals, and the results of this survey will be fed directly into talks with its Australian and New Zealand counterparts.
It is also hosting a services roundtable to hear from businesses directly.
Grace Thompson, Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) public affairs lead said:
“It is vital that we continually seek to understand how the UK’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are working in practice for exporters.
“That is why we are keen to highlight to our members opportunities such as this roundtable, where exporters can provide their honest feedback on how they are currently engaging with FTAs.”
The survey can be accessed here.
Service superpower
The UK is the second biggest exporter of services globally, and recently-announced trade talks with Turkey and a state-level agreement with Texas have focused on boosting this status.
In the four quarters up to Q3 2023, the UK exported £9.0bn and £966m worth of services to Australia and New Zealand respectively.
Both trade deals came into effect 31 May, with business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch describing them as a “historic moment” for UK trade post-Brexit.
In trade in services, DBT highlighted the fact that business will no longer be required to have a local office or residency in either country in order to provide services, and clauses in the deals set the stage for mutual recognition agreements to be more easily negotiated in talks led by a Professional Services Working Group.
Data flows – vital for the development of new technologies – are expected to be eased and accelerated, and specific service sectors such as business travel and insurance are hoping to benefit from bespoke provisions in the deals.
The details of the roundtable feedback session can be found below:
- Feedback session with services exporters to Australia & New Zealand:
- Date: 20 March
- Timings (2 sessions): 11am-12pm and 2-3pm (both will contain the same content – we have two times to accommodate different availabilities).
- Target audience: UK exporters of services into Australia and New Zealand.
For businesses, how to sign up: Please email Alice Almazan, FTA Utilisation team (DBT) Alice.Almazan@businessandtrade.gov.uk if you are interested and available to attend the roundtables and specify which session you would like to join. The FTA Utilisation team will also share the questions in advance to make sure we get the right people in the room to reply to the technical policy questions that will be covered on the day.