Australia-EU free trade raised by Merkel

A WORKING group has been established by German and Australian Government representatives to move towards a free trade agreement.

The move came after the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in November, in discussions between Prime Minister Tony Abbott and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and then was furthered at a business reception for Dr Merkel organised by the German-Australian Chamber of Commerce in Sydney. 

The reception, part of the first visit of a German Chancellor to Australia in more than 15 years, gave Dr Merkel a platform to raise the issue of a future EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). She said in her speech at the event of “the importance to expand the already strong commercial ties”.

The FTA was also  one of the key topics of the bilateral working group announced by Dr Merkel and Mr Abbott the previous day

German-Australian Chamber president, Lucy Hughes Turnbull, welcomed the Chancellor and mentioned how important the influence of German companies in Australia is. There is $11 billion in annual trade between Germany and Australia and Dr Merkel said she would support a future FTA between the European Union and Australia that could further deepen the business relationship. The Chancellor also invited Australian businesses to invest more in Germany.

After the reception, Airbus, Froebel, SAP and Siemens briefed Dr Merkel on their bilateral highlight projects as examples of world-leading German-Australian collaboration.

Also at the event staged at Sergeants Mess in Mosman were the Prime Minister’s representative Josh Frydenberg, Australian Ambassador to Germany David Ritchie, German Ambassador to Australia Christoph Mueller, Austrian Ambassador to Australia Helmut Boeck and Australian B20 Sherpa Robert Milliner, along with 300 members of the German-Australian Chamber.

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