Advertisement

Biscuits, buses and boomerangs: Johnson opens free-trade talks with Australia and New Zealand

  • British PM posts videos highlighting existing trade ties with former colonies as well as popular products that would become more widely available
  • Some analysts have suggested agreements with Australia and New Zealand could increase the value of UK exports to those countries by £1 billion

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: Bloomberg
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson marked the start of free-trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday by posting offbeat videos celebrating his country’s relationship with its former colonies.
Advertisement

Johnson emphasised the two-way trade relationship between Britain and the two southern hemisphere nations, highlighting a series of products – including biscuits, buses and boomerangs – that would be more widely available internationally under free trade deals.

“It’s quite extraordinary to think of all the things that we trade with each other already,” Johnson said of his country’s ties with Australia. “We import colossal quantities of absolutely delicious Australian wine. We export all kinds of things, including … boomerangs made in the UK, exported to Australia. I don’t think they come back but we send them to Australia.”

The British prime minister then turned his attention to a series of snacks popular in both countries.

“I want a world in which we send you Marmite, you send us Vegemite,” he said, referring to two yeast spreads renowned for polarising opinion.

“We send you Penguins and you send, with reduced tariffs, these wonderful Arnott’s Tim Tams,” he continued, holding up a packet of the popular Australian chocolate biscuits. “How long can the British people be deprived of the opportunity to have Arnott’s Tim Tams at a reasonable price?”

Advertisement

In a separate video celebrating the opening of talks with New Zealand, Johnson made reference to the Lord of the Rings films, which were filmed in New Zealand.

“We watch the orcs and the hobbits that we think come from New Zealand,” Johnson said. “We export gin, we export buses to New Zealand, but frankly there’s so much more we could do together, from agriculture to services, a huge amount to be gained.

Advertisement