July 9, 2018

EU and Australia complete first round of trade negotiations

Negotiators from the European Union (EU) and Australia were in Brussels from July 2 to 6 for the first round of negotiations towards a trade agreement.

The talks had been formally launched by European Commissioner Malmström, Australian Prime Minister Turnbull and Trade Minister Ciobo on June 18 in Canberra.

In addition to establishing negotiation groups and organising future work, in the first round the teams started substantive discussions on almost all chapters.

The EU is Australia's second-biggest trade partner. Bilateral trade in goods between the two partners has risen steadily in recent years, reaching almost €48bn (C$73bn) in 2017. Bilateral trade in services added an additional €27bn (C$41bn).