Cheaper household items and building materials for chippies are on the cards after Australia secured a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Australian farmers, including beef and sheep producers, will save about $50 million a year on their exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell says.
Households and businesses will save $40 million a year.
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Tariffs will be cut on jewellery, perfumes, furniture, copper wire, glass containers and plastic imported from the Middle East.
Emirati tariffs will be cut on 99 per cent of Australian products entering the country, with an estimated saving of $135 million in the first year and $160 million annually once the pact is fully phased in.
“The deal we have concluded with the UAE is of high quality and it’s a very good deal for Australia,” Senator Farrell told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
Senator Farrell called on unions to back the agreement after some raised concerns about poor conditions for workers in the Emirates, the criminalisation of homosexuality and little climate action.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has opposed preferential market access for countries with poor labour rights.
The free trade agreement would benefit Australian workers and businesses, the trade minister said.
Investment from a multitrillion-dollar Emirati investment fund would flow into Australian markets, especially in the critical minerals and renewable energy sectors, Senator Farrell said.
“Where there’s been a free trade agreement with the UAE, the sovereign wealth fund has followed,” he said.
“I’m absolutely certain, because of the interest in the critical mineral space by so many countries, including the UAE, that we’ll get lots and lots of extra investment there.”
There is no investor-state settlement dispute mechanism, which allows an investor to bring a claim against one of the states in the agreement.
The pact will be signed in coming weeks but will not become law until it’s ratified by both countries.
It comes as Australia tries to diversify business markets after China leveraged billions of dollars of punitive tariffs and restrictions over a years-long trade war that has since thawed.
The two-way goods and services trade with the Emirates was worth $9.3 billion in 2022, putting it as Australia’s 19th largest trading partner, according to government figures.
Australian exports include alumina, meat, oil seeds and higher education.
UAE investment in Australia was $12.6 billion in 2022.
