Australia and EU agree sweeping trade deal in face of global uncertainty

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Australia and the EU sign sweeping trade and security deals after years of negotiations.

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The deal signed in Canberra is worth about A$10bn ($7bn; £5.2bn) and was described as a mutual "win-win" by Australia's prime minister and the visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

She described the deal as having a focus on "collective resilience" in a world that is "deeply changing".

As well as removing almost all tariffs on trade, the two sides agreed to increase co-operation on defence and critical minerals.

European carmakers welcomed the deal but farmers in both Europe and Australia were unhappy at export quotas agreed for Australian beef and lamb.

The amount of Australian beef allowed into the EU is set to increase more than tenfold in the next decade, but Australian farmers had wanted more, while European farmers were opposed to increases.

Tuesday's accord in Canberra is the latest trade deal struck by Brussels as it tries to diversify its global trading relationships, given the fast changing geopolitical landscape and unpredictability of US President Donald Trump.

In January the EU and India announced a landmark trade deal after nearly two decades of on-off talks.

Another major trade deal the EU struck with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries was recently derailed in the European Parliament, amid criticism from the farming lobby.

"Today we are telling an important story to a world that is deeply changing. A world where great powers are using tariffs as leverage and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited," von der Leyen told a news conference in Canberra - a nod to Trump's use of tariffs and China's control of the critical minerals market.

She added that "trust matters more than transactions", noting Australia and the EU had a "unique relationship" that was "built for the long term".

Under the deal, almost all EU tariffs will be lifted on Australian agricultural products such as wine, fruit and vegetables, olive oil, seafood, most dai

Source: BBC

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