The Prime Ministers of Australia and the UK, Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson, will sign an in-principle post-Brexit trade deal later today which will include provisions for visa mobility between the two countries.
Written by James Skinner
While the deal still requires negotiations for agricultural imports and services, sources said enough progress had been made in the past 48 hours for the leaders to commit to something more meaningful than a Memorandum of Understanding.
In a speech to the Australia-UK Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Morrison said Britain joining the European Common Market in 1973 had “a devastating blow on Australian producers” and Brexit “was an opportunity for us to pick up where we left off all those years ago” by implementing new trading standards and visa agreements for each country’s citizens.
He also stated that reinforcing the trade relationship between the two countries provided a “great opportunity” to help strengthen strategic and economic ties, and to demonstrate how liberal democracies work.
In what is a significant advance for the CANZUK campaign, both governments have agreed to implement new provisions for freer movement of citizens between the two nations, including lifting age limits and other restrictions on working visa schemes.
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A source close to the British government said that if realized, the labour mobility provisions would be second only to Australia’s relationship with New Zealand that allows the free movement of people under the Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement.
The announcement comes shortly after the UK and New Zealand entered the fifth round of trade negotiations last week to remove numerous tariffs on goods and services, and MPs from all four CANZUK countries signed a joint-statement committing to developing CANZUK policy over the coming months.
The new Australia-UK trade deal also provides an ideal platform upon which further tariffs can be lifted between the two nations and free movement of citizens, emulating the Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement, can be implemented in the coming years.
CANZUK International is delighted with the announcement of the Australia-UK trade agreement and will continue to work with British and Australian officials to further develop trade and mobility agreements between the two countries.
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