UK-Australia 'agree broad terms for post-Brexit trade deal'

Boris Johnson has announced a trade deal between the UK and Australia has been formally agreed.

Speaking at Downing Street, the prime minister said: "Now, thanks to this deal, we hope there will be even more trade between the UK and Australia.”

Mr Johnson said the move would "benefit" British farmers after concerns had been raised about the impact cheap meat imports could undercut the British market. He added: “The idea is that we will be able to do even more because we are taking tariffs off, so for Northern Ireland, Northern Irish machine tools, this will be good news. “It will be good news for British car manufacturers, it will be good news for British services, for British financial services and it will be good news for the agricultural sector on both sides. “Here, we had to negotiate very hard and I want everybody to understand that this is a sensitive sector for both sides and we’ve got a deal that runs over 15 years and contains the strongest possible provisions for animal welfare. “But I think it is a good deal and I think it’s one that will benefit British farmers and British consumers as well. It will also make it easier for British people, for young people to go and work in Australia.” The new deal will help distillers by removing tariffs of up to 5% on Scotch whisky, according to a Downing Street statement stressing the benefits of the deal to the whole UK. It said more than 450 businesses in Wales exported to Australia last year and that “life science companies and chemicals manufacturers are set to benefit in particular”. For Northern Ireland, it said “90% of all exports from Northern Ireland to Australia are machinery and manufacturing goods – used extensively in Australia’s mining, quarrying and recycling sectors. Under the new FTA tariffs will be removed and customs procedures will be simplified”. And car manufacturers in the Midlands and North of England will see tariffs of up to 5% cut, it added.