AUSTRALIA AND UK FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (A-UKFTA) GOES LIVE

The A-UKFTA went live on 31 May.

The new agreement has implications for both importers of goods from Australia and exporters to Australia. 

There are reductions in customs duty rates, mostly immediate but some reductions are phased over a period of years, for imported products made in (originating in) the exporting partner country.

Importers wishing to claim the A-UKFTA preference duty rates will need to provide origin certification, which can be obtained from the exporter (or, from Australia, their representative). Alternatively, importers can claim origin status based on their own knowledge, if they are certain based on information available to them that the goods originate in the partner country.

In theory, products originating in one partner can be incorporated into products made in the other partner then benefit from import preference when the final product is exported to the first partner (bilateral cumulation aka “Regional Value Content”).

Origin declarations and certification will be subject to post-import verification checks and there are consequences if the declarations are found to be incorrect, so it is essential that importer’s due diligence processes are updated to reflect the new arrangements.

The UK also entered a similar FTA with New Zealand at the same time. However, there is no cumulation for products from Australia in the NZ agreement and none for New Zealand in the A-UKFTA.

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