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UAE, Australia to boost trade + investment: The UAE and Australia agreed the terms of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement to remove tariffs and trade barriers and facilitate investment in “priority sectors,” Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi said on X. The trade agreement is the Australian labor government’s first since taking office in May 2022, and Australia’s first with a country in the MENA region, Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement.
The partnership targets Australian agriculture exports: The trade agreement will see tariffs removed on approximately 99% of Australian products. The agreement also reduces Australian import tariffs on furniture, copper wire, glass containers, and plastic products from the UAE.
Australia’s leading exports to the UAE include meat, dairy products, oilseeds, seafood, steel, nuts, honey, coal, chickpeas, and lentils.
And investment in minerals: The agreement also includes provisions to ramp up Abu Dhabi’s investment in Australia’s critical minerals. The mining industry will also benefit from tariff reductions on alumina exports.
The agreement is slated to take effect later this year, and is expected to boost Australian exports by AUD 678 mn (USD 458 mn) annually.
Australia ❤️UAE for trade, investment: The UAE is Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East, with bilateral trade valued at AUD 9.9 bn (USD 6.37 bn) last year and two-way investment totaling AUD 20.6 bn (USD 13.17 bn). Bilateral non-oil trade reached USD 2.3 bn in 1H 2024, up 10% y-o-y.
The story also got ink in Bloomberg.
ALSO- Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed UAE-EU cooperation across various sectors with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative for the Gulf Luigi Di Maio yesterday, Wam reports. The two sides also discussed regional tensions during their meeting, calling for a ceasefire and two-state solution in Gaza to ensure stability in the region.
