Trade between the UK and Australia was worth £13.9bn in 2020, with the UK ranking as Australia's fifth largest trading partner.

The UK and Australia have agreed a free trade deal, the first agreement negotiated from scratch after Brexit.

Boris Johnson announced the deal by sharing a photo of himself and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison swapping chocolate confectionary.

The photo op shows Mr Johnson trading Penguin chocolate bars, a true British icon, with a packet of Tim Tams, a famous Aussie snack.

Key points of the deal revealed so far include:

  • Britons under the age of 35 will be able to travel and work in Australia more freely
  • Tariffs will be eliminated on Australian favourites like Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines, swimwear and confectionery, as well as increasing choice for British consumers and saving households up to £34m annually
  • Downing Street said the deal will help distillers by scrapping tariffs of up to 5% on Scotch whisky, while car manufacturers in the Midlands and the North of England will see tariffs of up to 5% cut
  • Number 10 said more than 450 businesses in Wales exported to Australia last year and stand to benefit, while “life science companies and chemicals manufacturers are set to benefit in particular”
  • It said that in Northern Ireland, 90% of all exports to Australia are “machinery and manufacturing goods used extensively in Australia’s mining, quarrying and recycling sectors”, and under the deal tariffs will be removed and customs procedures “simplified”