Aukus fallout: EU-Australia trade talks postponed as submarine row rumbles on
- Paris has accused Canberra of lying after it cancelled a French submarine contract and questioned whether the trade agreement can go ahead
- Trade Minister Dan Tehan played down the dispute, saying Australia will work towards concluding the deal
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“The FTA trade round has been postponed for a month until November,” an EU official in Canberra said, throwing the future of the far-reaching pact into doubt.
The decision prompted a major diplomatic spat with one of the European Union’s largest members and now appears to have hit ties with the entire bloc.
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Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan, who was expected to travel to Europe for the talks, played down the decision.
“We understand the French reaction to our submarine decision but ultimately any nation must act in its national interest – which is what Australia has done,” he said.
Tehan indicated he plans to meet EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis next week to discuss what would be the 12th round of negotiations.
“We will continue preparing for the 12th round of negotiations and working towards concluding a free-trade agreement that is in the interests of both Australia and the EU.”
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The EU is Australia’s third-biggest trading partner.
In 2020, the trade in goods between the two economies was valued at 36 billion euros (US$42.4 billion) and at 26 billion euros in services.
The next round of talks was due to cover areas including trade, services, investment and intellectual property rights.
Negotiations began in 2018 and officials had hoped to reach a final agreement by the end of the year.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison deliberately deceived France
The submarine dispute has made front-page news in both countries.
In response to the decision the French government recalled its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington, a rare move to protest allies’ behaviour.
France’s envoy returned to the US on Wednesday but as yet there is no such indication that ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault will return.
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull this week said his successor and former party colleague “deliberately deceived” France in scrapping the deal.
“[Prime Minister Scott] Morrison has not acted in good faith. He deliberately deceived France. He makes no defence of his conduct other than to say it was in Australia’s national interest,” Turnbull told the National Press Club in Canberra.
“France believes it has been deceived and humiliated, and she was. This betrayal of trust will dog our relations with Europe for years,” he added.
“The Australian government has treated the French Republic with contempt.”
Canberra insists it scrapped the contract as it decided it needs nuclear submarines, which can remain underwater and undetected for far greater stretches, at a time of rising tensions with China.
