(Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be careful about going for a no-trade deal Brexit on so-called “Australian” terms because Australia faces very large barriers to trading with the European Union, former Australian leader Malcolm Turnbull said.
Johnson said on Thursday there was “a strong possibility” Britain and the EU would fail to strike a new trade deal and end up with “a solution that’s much more like an Australian relationship”.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Turnbull, who served as prime minister from 2015 to 2018, told the BBC. “Australia’s relationship with the EU is not one, from a trade point of view, that Britain would want.”
The bulk of Australia’s trade with the EU is subject to tariffs and quotas set under basic World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms and it is pushing for better market access through a fully-fledged trade deal.
“There are really some very large barriers to Australian trade with Europe which we’re seeking to address as we negotiate a free trade agreement with Europe,” Turnbull said. “But Australians would not regard our trade relationship with Europe as being a satisfactory one.”
