CANBERRA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) — The Australian authorities has walked away from a free commerce settlement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) after failing to make progress in negotiations.
Don Farrell, Australia’s minister for commerce and tourism, on Sunday stated that, following talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) commerce minister assembly in Osaka, Japan, no deal has been reached on the FTA.
Farrell stated in an announcement that he traveled to Osaka with the intention of finalizing a cope with the EU that might profit Australian companies, producers, employees and shoppers.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to make progress. Negotiations will continue, and I am hopeful that one day we will sign a deal that will benefit Australians and our European friends,” native media quoted him as saying.
Prior to departing for Japan, Farrell described the negotiations because the “end game” for the FTA forward of EU elections in 2024, which he stated might put talks on maintain for a number of years.
Australia’s choice to stroll away from negotiations, which started in 2018, comes after Farrell in July rejected the EU’s proposed deal as a consequence of a disagreement over the liberalization of agricultural commerce and EU import quotas for Australian beef, sheep meat, dairy merchandise and sugar.
Earlier in October, the height physique representing Australia’s agriculture business, the National Farmers’ Federation, urged the federal government to not signal a cope with the EU except main enhancements had been negotiated for farmers, saying the EU proposal would put them at a drawback for “the next half-century.”
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the EU is Australia’s third-largest two-way buying and selling companion and second-largest supply of overseas funding.