Golden opportunities on the Gold Coast for NI businesses

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has called on Northern Ireland businesses to export more Down Under during a visit to Australia to see the opportunities presented by the new UK-Australia free trade agreement.

Trevelyan signed the trade deal, worth £2.3 billion to the UK economy, in December.

Next week she will take the next step in implementing the deal as the Trade Bill is debated in Parliament, so our firms and citizens can start to enjoy its benefits as soon as possible.

The deal is expected to boost the Northern Ireland economy by around £20 million and benefit important sectors such as manufacturing.

Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said:  “Northern Ireland exports a wide breadth of products to Australia, from machinery to cars to food and drink, and our new free trade agreement will only increase those opportunities. It is fantastic to personally drive these opportunities whilst in Australia after months of virtual negotiations.

“Our independent trade policy is delivering for the people of Northern Ireland, tearing down trade barriers, reducing costs and helping boost wages across the country.

"I encourage all Northern Ireland businesses to make the most of the fantastic opportunities Australia, and our free trade agreement, have to offer.”

Based on current trading arrangements, more than 230 Northern Ireland businesses exported £154 million worth of goods to Australia in 2021. The UK-Australia trade deal aims to boost this number further as more firms embrace the export opportunities Down Under.

Belfast’s thriving start-ups and scale-ups could find it easier to enter the Australian market, with no requirement to store data on Australian servers and new access to Australian government contracts.

This benefits tech companies like Kinsetsu, making it easier to sell its digital automation services to Australian clients.

In addition, companies like Wrightbus, which is developing next-generation green tech, are set to benefit from the agreement, which was signed last year and slashed tariffs on electric vehicles to 0%.

Ballymena-based Wrightbus recently signed a deal with an Australian counterpart to build its hydrogen-powered buses.

Joerg Hofmann, Wrightbus new chief executive officer, added: “We’re incredibly grateful to the Department for International Trade for its support in assisting Wrightbus to secure this important initial deal with Volgren in the Australian market.

“The UK-Australia free trade agreement has helped to open up the market for us at a significant time in our continued growth.”

The visit to Australia comes as Trevelyan works to bring the deal into force so that Northern Ireland businesses can start benefitting from the agreement as soon as possible.

The UK is also in the process of acceding to CPTPP – a trade bloc in the Indo-Pacific made up of 11 countries with a combined GDP of £9 trillion, of which Australia is a key member. This could see 99.9% of UK exports becoming eligible for tariff-free trade with the bloc, further boosting opportunities for UK businesses in the region.