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The Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) has the interests of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) at heart.
Key Outcomes:
The A-UKFTA explicitly recognises the importance of SMEs and that the task of establishing export markets abroad is more challenging for them. The agreement will support SMEs by eliminating tariffs and removing red tape that slows trade down. Australian SME service providers and professionals running their own business will find it easier to trade in the UK.
The A-UKFTA will create new commercial opportunities for Australian businesses of all shapes and sizes and deepen our already strong investment ties that support business growth.
Outcomes include
- elimination of tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exports by value when the agreement enters into force
- reduction in costs and red tape by making it simpler for traders to prove the originating status of their goods
- faster timeframes for customs clearance to provide greater certainty to exporters
- transparent trade and investment rules to save on administrative costs when trading with the UK
- Australian suppliers of all sizes, including SMEs and Indigenous-owned businesses, will have the guaranteed right to bid for a wider variety UK government goods, services and construction contracts, in a procurement market worth an estimated half-a-trillion dollars annually
- a requirement to publish procurement notices electronically, free of charge, to ensure all suppliers have access to the same information about procurement opportunities
- a range of commitments to ensure technical barriers to trade do not discriminate or create unnecessary obstacles to trade
- rules against corruption, reducing unfair competition by state-owned enterprises, and ensuring a liberalised environment for digital trade.
Both countries have committed to providing easy access to information that will assist SMEs interested in trading, investing, or doing business with the other country. The agreement also facilitates cooperation between Australia and the UK that will assist SMEs to take advantage of the agreement. Other cooperation activities include the exchange of information on programs to assist SME participation in global markets.