Australia, EU sign free trade deal, agree to strengthen security, defense partnership

Australia and the European Union on Tuesday signed a free trade agreement (FTA) worth AUD10 billion (about $7 billion), as well as a security and defense partnership agreement.

The FTA, which has been negotiated for eight years, will provide Australian exporters with greater access to global markets containing over 450 million people.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the long-awaited agreement, as well as several others, during their meeting in Canberra, according to a statement from Albanese's office.

Following the meeting, Albanese told reporters that the relationship is critical in the context of a "less predictable" global environment.

"It is a win-win," he said, highlighting that the pact will eliminate tariffs on exports such as wine, seafood, beef, and dairy.

"Today, we are also launching our new Security and Defense Partnership (SDP)," von der Leyen said in a post on the US social media company X.

"We will deepen our cooperation from joint maritime exercises to space, defense industry and countering hybrid threats. And we will work hand in hand to strengthen the resilience of our democracies," she added.

Under the FTA, Australia will remove a 5% tariff on imports of European products, which hits carmakers like BMW and Mercedes, along with producers of goods like fashion products, food, and drink.

In return, the EU will allow expanded imports of Australian products, including beef and lamb.

Minutes after the agreement was signed, meat exporters criticized the deal, which, according to them, does not grant the access promised during the years of negotiations.

Regarding the SDP, the EU said in a statement that it will "put in place a robust institutional framework, helping to ensure maximum efficiency in addressing current geopolitical challenges."

- 'Europe and Australia must rearm and decarbonize'

Meanwhile, the European Commission president, in her address to the Australian parliament, said that Europe and Australia must rearm and decarbonize as they try to "break economic and energy dependencies" on China and Russia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The European Commission president, the first female world leader to address the federal parliament, warned that China's massive exports are undermining Europe's economic model and driving it towards deindustrialization, urging Australia to support its efforts to rebalance global trade.

"Both the threat to our supply-chain security and the shock to our industrial base need urgent responses," she said.