Question On Notice No. 230 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 17 August 2021 by Dr D.J. Honey
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer the Premier to the foreign trip by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in June, whereby he secured a free trade deal with the United Kingdom, and ask
:
(a) Does the Premier acknowledge that this is very welcome news for our state’s primary producers;
(b) If the Premier does agree the free trade deal is welcome news, why didn’t the Premier make any public announcement or issue any statement welcoming such an important announcement; and
(c) Has the Premier written to the Prime Minister to congratulate him on achieving the deal, and if not, why not?
Answered on 12 October 2021
(a – c) Yes. The State Government is aware and supportive of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement. While negotiations of the agreement have not yet concluded, the agreement is a welcome addition to Western Australia’s diverse trade economy.
Two-way goods trade between Australia and the United Kingdom were valued at $21.9 billion in 2020. The proposed free trade agreement will improve market access for goods and services.
The State Government is supportive of free trade agreements. Western Australia is an export-oriented economy with merchandise exports accounting for 57% of GSP in 2019-20. Western Australia’s largest export trading partner is China at $115 billion, almost seven times larger than second placed Japan ($17.4 billion) and almost 10 times larger than third place South Korea ($12.1 billion).