Britain speaks of Aussie-style trade deal

SYDNEY REUTERS OCT 16- Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Britons on Friday to get ready to leave the European Union’s single market at year-end and embrace what he called an Australian-style trading relationship.

But what is an Australian-style deal? Australia does not have a free-trade agreement with the 27-nation EU, the world’s biggest common trading area, although its exporters want one.

Johnson’s critics therefore say that an “Australian-style deal” is simply code for no deal at all with Britain’s largest export market.

Australia’s trade with the EU is dwarfed by Britain’s: Aussie exports to the bloc totalled just 15 billion euros ($17.60 billion) last year whereas Britain sold goods and services worth 300 billion pounds ($387.12 billion), 43% of all UK exports.