European Commission - Questions and answers Questions and answers on the EU-Australia Trade Agreement Canberra, 24 March 2026 How big is the Australian market? How much trade does the EU do with Australia? Australia is Oceania's largest economy, with an annual GDP of €1.7 trillion. Australia enjoys strong preferential trade links in the Asia Pacific. A trade agreement with Australia strengthens the EU's position in t...
European Commission - Questions and answers Questions and answers on the EU-Australia Trade Agreement Canberra, 24 March 2026 How big is the Australian market? How much trade does the EU do with Australia? Australia is Oceania's largest economy, with an annual GDP of €1.7 trillion. Australia enjoys strong preferential trade links in the Asia Pacific. A trade agreement with Australia strengthens the EU's position in the increasingly important Indo-Pacific region, home to the largest source of GDP growth in the next decades. EU firms exported to Australia €37bn of goods (in 2025), and €31bn of services (in 2024). What will the agreement with Australia achieve? The agreement will deepen our trade and investment relations and provide new opportunities for business by: Eliminating tariffs on almost 100% of EU exports of goods (with the exception of certain steel products) and providing a level playing field for EU goods in the Australian market, by eliminating over €1 billion annually in duties paid for dutiable EU exports valued over €20 billion, and increasing. Making it easier for EU companies to provide their services in Australia, including professional services as well as delivery, telecommunications, maritime transport and financial services. Ensuring EU investors in Australia are not discriminated against compared to both domestic investors or other foreign investors. Advancing mobility provisions in innovative sectors, including entry quotas of 3,000 researchers/ trainee engineers per year. Improving access for EU companies to Australian government procurement contracts for goods, services, works and works concessions. Ensuring EU companies participate on an equal footing with Australian ones in bids for procurement covered by the agreement, and vice versa. Including a chapter on small and medium enterprises, to ensure that both EU and Australian small businesses fully benefit from the opportunities the agreement offers. Providing that competition laws are maintained and effectively enforced by operationally independent authorities in a transparent manner, in respect of the principles of procedural fairness, as well as cooperation between the authorities. Providing wide transparency and consultation mechanisms on subsidies granted while prohibiting the most harmful subsidies for trade and competition. Allowing European companies to prove compliance with Australian technical regulations more easily by allowing conformity assessments to be carried out in the EU by recognised bodies, for certain sectors. This also covers States and Territories in Australia. Acceptance of EU type-approval certificates for a wide range of vehicle categories. Cooperation among EU and Australian standardising bodies bilaterally, regionally and internationally. Protecting and enforcing IP rights to encourage innovation and creativity for our respective industries to stay competitive. Confirming the possibility to deal with unfair trade between the parties and providing a bilateral safeguard mechanism in case preferential imports cause serious injury to the domestic industry or cause serious deterioration in the economic situation of the outermost region(s). Securing our supply chains of critical raw materials (CRMs) and ensuring they are sourced sustainably. Boosting more sustainable trade through strong, enforceable provisions on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD), including commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement, core labour standards, gender equality and environment. Agriculture How will EU farmers and food producers benefit? In 2024, the EU had a positive trade balance with Australia for agri-food products worth €2.3 billion. European farmers and food businesses will gain even easier access to the large Australian market and more opportunities to sell their products due to tariff elimination. Among others, tariffs will go down to zero on all products, including for key EU export products, such as: Cheeses (over 3 years) Wine and sparkling wine (from day one) Some fruit and vegetables, including preparations and fruit juices (all from day one) Chocolate, sugar, confectionary and ice cream (all from day one) Many processed agricultural products (all from day one) How will the agreement protect sensitive EU agricultural products? The agreement takes fully into account the interests of EU producers of sensitive agricultural products. For these sectors, access to the EU market will be limited through carefully calibrated tariff rate quotas, gradually implemented, and with significant sustainability conditionalities aiming at securing that imports into the EU are more aligned with the EU's own production standards on climate, environmental and animal welfare. Beef meat: Under the agreement, the EU will open two tariff rate quotas of a total of 30 600 tonnes , with the majority of the volume (55%, corresponding to 16 830 tonnes) entering duty free and subject to a “grass-fed” conditionality, and a smaller portion (45%, corresponding to 13 770 tonnes) to be imported with a reduced duty of 7.5%. These volumes will be gradually phased in over 10 years from the entry into force of the agreement, with one third of the volumes granted at entry into force and kept stable for a period of 5 years, ensuring a very gradual implementation . This represents around 0.5% of EU domestic consumption of beef and less than 2% of all Australian exports of beef to the world. Sheep and goat meat: Under the agreement, the EU will open two tariff rate quotas of a total of 25 000 tonnes to be imported duty free, with the smaller portion (27%) limited to frozen meat. This represents around 4% of EU consumption of sheep and goat meat. This volume will be gradually phased in over 7 years from the entry into force of the agreement, with one third of the volumes granted at entry into force. These quotas will be exclusive for “grass-fed” sheep and goat meat, not raised in feedlots, with higher costs of production and higher sustainability credentials. Sugar : under the agreement, the EU will open a tariff rate quota of 35 000 tonnes of raw sugar cane for refining to be imported duty free. This represents less than 0.3% of the EU consumption of sugar. The import of sugar to the EU via this concession will be subject to certification by a private sustainability scheme, in line with the EU effort to ensure high standards of sustainability in this Agreement. Dairy : the most sensitive EU products will be protected by modest tariffs rate quotas, notably 8 000 tonnes for skimmed milked powder, 5 000 tonnes for butter and 2 000 tonnes for whey protein concentrates. These represent, for skimmed milk powder, around 1.1% and for butter, 0.25% of EU consumption of those goods. Rice : modest access through a 8 500 tonnes tariff rate quota will also be granted for rice, starting with 5 000 tons at entry into force and a phasing in period of 5 years. This represents 0.3% of EU consumption of rice. Other products: Access through modest tariff rate quotas will also be granted for, wheat gluten [20 000 tons], sweetcorn [800 tons], bulk rum [750 hl], derivative starches [1 000 tons] and ethanol [10 000 tons], all at zero duty. This strikes the right balance: Australian exports of sensitive products will be strictly limited and subject to safeguards, thus ensuring that the EU market is not placed at risk. What safeguards does the agreement foresee in case of unlikely market disruptions in sensitive sectors? The Agreement includes a dedicated Trade Remedies chapter, which establishes a bilateral safeguard mechanism. This allows the EU and Australia to impose temporary safeguard measures during the first 7 years following the entry into force of the Agreement, where a significant increase in preferential imports causes, or threatens to cause, serious injury to the domestic industry, or causes, or threatens to cause, serious deterioration in the economic situation of the EU's outermost region(s). For the most sensitive agricultural products, the bilateral safeguard mechanism is also applicable to products subject to tariff rate quotas (TRQ) and temporary safeguard measures may be applied during the phasing in period for the TRQ, plus 5 years following the end of this phasing in period. This will allow for any significant disturbance in the market for the most sensitive agri-food products (beef, sheep meat, sugar, rice) to be addressed effectively, if serious injury is caused. As an additional layer of protection for farmers, the bilateral safeguard mechanism will be operationalised in a self-standing EU regulation that will see swift and effective protections kick into gear, in the unlikely event of an unforeseen and harmful surge in imports or an undue decrease in prices for EU producers. How will the agreement protect EU distinctive regional products (Geographical Indications)? The EU protects the names of specific food and drink products whose qualities are specifically linked to the area of production through the “Geographical Indications” (GIs) status. GI recognition establishes an intellectual property right for these products' names, helping producers to better market their products, sell them for a premium as well as enabling consumers to trust and distinguish high quality and authentic products. The Agreement will protect 165 EU agricultural and food GIs and 231 EU spirit drink GIs in Australia, including some of the most renowned one such as Comté, Irish Whiskey, Queso Manchego, Salam de Sibiu, Istarski pršut ham, Lübecker Marzipan, Masticha Chiou and many others. Tailored solutions for protection were found for some EU GIs, taking into account the specific characteristics of the Australian market. Some terms conflicting with a number of protected EU GIs names are widely used by Australian producers. In this context, some EU GIs names will be fully protected after relatively short phasing-out periods of Australian products, which previously used the name in good faith and in a continuous manner. This is the case for GIs such as Pecorino Romano (at retail level), Tsipouro, Munster, Vinagre de Jerez or Ouzo for example. For other, GIs (Feta, or Gruyère to name two), prior Australian users having used the term in good faith and in a continuous manner for at least five years prior to the Agreement will retain the possibility to use of the term (grandfathering). For these ‘grandfathered" GIs, the Agreement foresees a strong labelling discipline that will prevent false, misleading or deceptive claims as to the origin of the good. Those prior users will be listed to make enforcement easier and more effective for the EU right holders. The Agreement foresees the opportunity for both Parties to add more GIs in the future. What was agreed for wines? In parallel, the EU and Australia have agreed on a modernised bilateral agreement on wines which will offer: A review and update of the full list of EU Wine GIs and Traditional Terms protected in Australia. Building on the previous successful agreement, it will offer protection for all EU wine GIs (representing over 1,600 names), including the addition of over 50 new wine GIs from 12 different Member States. A solution for the protection for the GI “Prosecco” in Australia, preventing Australian producers to export wines using this name after a transitional period of 10 years from the entry into force of the new agreement. Simplified mechanism for the International Organisation for Vine and Wine (OIV) compliant oenological practices recognition. How will the agreement protect European standards, including food safety standards? As with all the EU's trade agreements, the agreement with Australia will not change European standards, including standards for food, agricultural and fishery products. EU standards are not negotiable. EU stringent food safety rules will not change . The agreement does not affect or undermine EU food safety and animal and plant health legislation because health standards are not negotiable. The EU keeps its strict approach on health protection for any food safety matter, including genetically modified organisms (GMO). The EU maintains its right to set maximum levels of residues for pesticides, veterinary medicines or contaminants. The EU remains free to regulate food safety . The agreement reaffirms the EU's right to regulate food safety in the interest of EU citizens' health. The agreement reaffirms the 'precautionary principle', allowing the EU to take measures to protect the health of EU citizens when the scientific evidence on whether imported food is safe or not is inconclusive. All imported food must comply with the EU's standards. EU rules apply to all products sold in the EU, whether produced domestically or imported. A robust system of checks allows the EU to make sure that its rules are respected. Goods and Services What will the agreement mean for trade in goods? The agreement will eliminate tariffs on almost 100% of EU exports (with the exception of certain steel products) by the end of the transition period and provide a level playing field for EU goods in the Australian market, which is expected to increase EU exports to Australia by up to 33% over the next decade. What about steel products? Given global circumstances for this market, the EU and Australia decided to maintain certain policy space in the area of steel products. Therefore, it was agreed that the FTA will not provide preferential market access commitments on certain steel products. These are excluded from tariff liberalisation both by the EU and Australia . How will the car sector benefit from the FTA? From day 1, Australia will fully liberalise market access for all passenger cars and all other vehicles, with the exception of a few tariff lines on trucks, for which duties will be gradually removed over a short period. In addition to import duties, Australia is currently applying a system of luxury car tax, by which vehicles above a certain price threshold need to pay a tax when imported. As part of the FTA negotiations, Australia has agreed to increase the threshold for electric vehicles to 120 000 AUD, below which such tax is not applied.While this commitment is of general application (i.e. not EU- specific), EU electric vehicles will proportionally benefit the most. Approximately 75% of electric vehicles will be exempted from paying the luxury car tax. What will the agreement mean for trade in services? The agreement will make it easier for EU firms to sell their services in Australia, including in professional and business services, maritime transport, and financial services. The agreement will reduce and eliminate discrimination and expand opportunities for EU and Australian service providers and investors. The agreement also guarantees the right of EU Member States' authorities to maintain public services. It will not force governments to privatise or deregulate any public service at national or local level. Member States' authorities retain the right to return privately provided services to the control of the public sector. What will the agreement mean for digital trade? It will facilitate digital trade by addressing unjustified barriers, and ensuring an open, secure and trustworthy online environment for businesses and consumers, along with high standards of personal data protection. It notably prohibits data localisation requirements, while preserving the EU's policy space regarding the protection of personal data. What will the agreement mean for investment? It will ensure EU investors receive the most favourable treatment accorded to any foreign investor in Australia, and in most cases are treated in the same way as Australian investors. Both EU and Australian investors will be able to establish their companies and operate them freely, in each other's territories. Investments made by EU investors will be screened in Australia under the more favourable conditions accorded to other investors of those trading partners with whom Australia has concluded preferential trade agreements. How will the agreement help small businesses? A dedicated chapter for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will allow for a better information exchange and fruitful cooperation with Australia on SME-related issues. This includes enhanced information for SMEs on how to access Australian market and vice versa, as well as a dedicated institutional set-up (SME Contact Points) that will address any matter of interest to SMEs in connection with the implementation of the agreement. EU and Australia will provide information relevant to SMEs seeking to access their market. This will save time and money for SMEs who may not be able to afford bespoke advice. In addition, there will be a searchable database of import requirements which will provide easily accessible product specific information, such as applicable tariffs, taxes and rules of origin. The EU and Australia also share the objective of providing efficient customs procedures to traders, in particular to smaller entities. The Agreement will ensure transparency in relation to the legislation, forms and procedures needed to be complied with at border, as well as to applied tariffs, access to contact points in case of enquiries, and consultation of business prior to adoption of new customs legislations. Simplified and digitised customs procedures, together with more compatible technical requirements will lower export related costs and allow SMEs with lower trade volumes to compete with larger companies. This also enhances SMEs' ability to participate in supply chains, digital trade and public procurement in the Australian market. Finally, SMEs that find that their goods are frequently held up at the border, or which struggle to meet local licensing requirements for service delivery, can raise these problems with their own governments, which can then utilise the government-to-government committees to push for improvement. How will the agreement further open Australia's government procurement market? The agreement will make it easier for European firms to bid for government contracts in Australia by providing legal guarantees that the EU can participate in this field on an equal footing with local suppliers and service providers, as well as by preventing discrimination against European SMEs. What are the key provisions on rules of origin? Products that are wholly obtained in either the EU or Australia (by agriculture, mining, fishing etc) qualify as originating, as well as products containing foreign inputs, as long as they meet specific requirements for local production called ‘product specific rules'. EU producers can use materials originating in Australia as if they were originating in the EU and vice versa. This is called bilateral cumulation. For products not meeting the product specific rules there is an additional tolerance of 10% in value for all products except for textiles and clothing which have a special tolerance. Sustainability How will the agreement promote sustainability? The EU-Australia trade agreement: Integrates the EU's approach under the “Trade Agreement for Green and Just Growth” plan. Includes sanctionable commitments to the Paris Agreement and core ILO labour standards. Has a dedicated trade and gender equality article. Removes tariffs on green goods and liberalises services at entry into force. Has novel provisions on the circular economy, deforestation, carbon pricing and the protection of the marine environment. How will the agreement contribute to the fight against climate change? Under the agreement, the EU and Australia commit to effectively implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement on climate change. If either of the parties fails to comply with the agreement's TSD commitments or acts in a way which materially defeats the Paris Climate Agreement, a party may impose sanctions. How will the agreement contribute to gender equality? The agreement has a dedicated article on Trade and Gender equality in the TSD chapter, a first for an EU trade agreement, and will address several aspects: Commitment to effectively implement the relevant UN and ILO conventions that address gender equality or women's rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women Commitment not to weaken or reduce the levels of protection, nor to waive or otherwise derogate from laws aimed at ensuring gender equality or equal opportunities for women and men, in order to encourage trade or investment. Priority areas for sharing of information and joint initiatives, such as policies on maximising positive impacts of women's participation in trade. How will the agreement uphold workers' rights in both the EU and Australia? Both the EU and Australia have strong laws protecting workers' rights. They have agreed that the trade deal between them must support existing rights and not lead to reducing or diluting them and to this objective, the agreement prohibits either side from unduly encouraging trade and investment by weakening their respective labour laws, granting derogations or waivers from labour laws or not enforcing labour laws. The two sides have also agreed to ensure that core labour rights as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are respected. These concern freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, effective abolition of child labour, elimination of non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, and a safe and healthy working environment. Moreover, the TSD chapter requires the effective implementation of all the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions that each party has ratified and commits them to continued efforts to ratify the fundamental ILO conventions not ratified yet. In addition, the EU and Australia agreed robust commitments on decent work, including on working conditions with regard to wages, earnings, and working hours, on labour inspection and on social dialogue, in line with relevant ILO standards. What about the agreement's impact on the environment? Mirroring the approach on the labour commitments, the EU and Australia have agreed that the trade deal between them must support existing international environmental standards and not lower or dilute the environmental protections provided on each side. They have also agreed that each side has the right to regulate in order to protect the environment. Both sides have agreed to effectively implement the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) that each party has ratified, such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The TSD Chapter includes further provisions on the fight against climate change and the transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy. It also identifies potential areas where trade and environmental agendas can reinforce each other such as the conservation and sustainable management of biological resources, forests, and fisheries, or the promotion of trade in legally harvested and sustainable products. The novel cooperation obligations encourage the shift to a circular and resource-efficient economy, and deforestation-free supply chains. Finally, the deal includes zero tariffs on green goods and services that contribute to achieving environmental and climate goals by preventing, limiting, minimising or remediating environmental damage to water, air and soil and by contributing to the dissemination of technologies that serve to mitigate climate change. Will the commitments on workers' rights and environmental protection (sustainable development) be enforceable? TSD commitments are legally binding and enforceable through the agreement's general dispute settlement, with an independent and transparent review by a panel of experts, and the active involvement of civil society. This approach is based on engagement and addresses emerging concerns through dialogue and cooperation. The party found in violation of its TSD commitments will have to promptly inform how it will implement the panel report and carry this out within a certain period of time. This will be subject to panel review. Civil society will be able to submit observations to the panel also at this stage. Moreover, the agreement foresees the possibility of trade sanctions as a matter of last resort, in instances of serious violations of core TSD commitments, namely the ILO fundamental principles and rights at work, and of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. How will the agreement help promote sustainable food chains in both regions? The EU and Australia have agreed to cooperate more closely on animal welfare standards. Both sides have committed to also take initiatives to phase out the use of antimicrobial agents as growth promoters and to reduce the use of antimicrobial agents in animal production. Moreover, the EU and Australia have also agreed to cooperate on food loss and waste, pesticides and fertilisers, and ensuring the security and resilience of food supply chains. Does the agreement contain a reference to the precautionary principle? The agreement reaffirms the principles of the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, including the 'precautionary principle', meaning that public authorities have a legal right to act to protect human, animal or plant health, or the environment, in the face of a perceived risk even when scientific analysis is not conclusive. How will the agreement safeguard governments' right to regulate in the public interest? The EU and Australia sides will continue to have the right to determine their sustainable development policies and priorities, to establish the levels of domestic environmental and labour protection they deem appropriate, and to adopt or modify its relevant law and policies. They shall strive to ensure that their policies provide for high levels of environmental and labour protection. Both sides will not weaken or reduce the levels of protection under their environmental or labour laws in order to encourage trade or investment. Critical Raw Materials How will the agreement help secure the EU's critical raw materials supply chains? The agreement will give the EU better access to Australian critical raw materials (CRMs) by: Lowering tariffs on imports of CRMs, thus reducing their cost. Banning of export monopolies, export taxes and other restrictions. This will make the Australian CRM market much more predictable and stable for European companies. Opening investment opportunities and potential future joint investment projects that will help to expand the existing CRM sector and facilitate the integration of Australian and EU value chains. How will the agreement ensure that this trade in CRMs is sustainable? The agreement will safeguard the sustainability of the CRM trade on two levels. The first of these is the horizontal Trade and Sustainability (TSD) chapter, which contains provisions to ensure that all trade under the agreement is sustainable. For CRMs specifically, the Energy and Resources chapter contains tailor-made provisions focusing on the CRM industry, such as a joint commitment to carry out environmental impact assessments for any CRM projects. Accountability & Transparency How much control do elected governments and MEPs have over the whole process? The European Commission negotiated on behalf of the EU in line with a mandate granted to it by the governments of the EU's 27 Member States. The Commission has always ensured that the negotiation process is accountable to EU Member States and to the European Parliament. The EU Commissioners concerned, as well as the Commission negotiators and services: Work together with EU Member States to prepare the negotiations and negotiating texts. Report back to Member States meeting in the Council on how the negotiations are going. Keep the European Parliament updated of developments. Appear before the European Parliament's International Trade Committee. How has the Commission ensured that everyone can follow what is happening in the talks? Throughout the negotiations, the Commission has regularly met, informed and shared information with EU Member State governments, the European Parliament, and civil society organisations. The European Commission has held four meetings with representatives of many of the 372 civil society organisations registered with its ongoing dialogue on trade policy. These EU-based, not-for-profit organisations include trade unions, consumer bodies, employers' federations, business federations, farming organisations, environmental organisations, animal welfare organisations, faith-based groups, think tanks and community-based groups. On its website, the Commission has published dedicated websites . Has the Commission evaluated the impact that this agreement could have on the EU and Australia? The EU commissioned an independent Sustainable Impact Assessment (SIA) on these negotiations. SIAs analyse the potential economic, social, human rights and environmental impact of trade agreements being negotiated by the EU. They are based on a robust analysis of the changes that are likely to be caused by the trade agreement in the EU, the partner country and developing countries. Equally important, they include wide-ranging consultations of stakeholders in the EU and the partner country. SIA findings and recommendations feed into the negotiations, helping negotiators to optimise the related policy choices. The SIA has been published together with a Commission Services' Position Paper . The EU also commissioned an independent Impact assessment study on the negotiations. What are the next steps? The negotiated draft texts will be soon published. These texts will go through the necessary internal procedures and then will be presented to the Council. Once adopted by the Council, the EU and Australia will sign the agreement. Following the signature, the text is transmitted to the European Parliament for consent. After the consent by the European Parliament, and once the Council decides to conclude the agreement and Australia also ratified it, the agreement can enter into force. For more information EU-Australia FTA page Press release Factsheet – Main benefits Factsheet – Trade and sustainable development Factsheet – Critical raw materials Factsheet – Agri-food Memo EU-Australia trade relations QANDA/26/648 Press contacts: Olof GILL (+32 2 29 65966) Marta PEREZ-CEJUELA ROMERO (+32 2 29 63770) General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email
Speech Brief