UAE trade deal: Australian consumers in line for cheaper perfume and sheep meat farmers set for boost

Australian consumers will be able to buy cheaper perfume and jewellery while alumina producers and sheep meat farmers will get a boost under a new trade deal struck with the United Arab Emirates overnight.

The trade agreement – Australia’s first with a Middle Eastern country – is also expected to pave the way for billions of dollars of investment in WA critical minerals projects.

Trade Minister Don Farrell and his UAE counterpart, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, ended negotiations for the comprehensive economic partnership on Tuesday morning and celebrated reaching an agreement.

Australia and the UAE started talks on the trade deal in February.

Two-way trade between the countries is currently worth $9.9 billion a year.

Under the agreement to remove tariffs on almost all Australian products, exports to the Middle Eastern nation are tipped to increase by $678 million a year.

Senator Farrell said there were significant opportunities for Australian producers.

Alumina is one of Australia’s key exports to the UAE, worth more than $1 billion in 2023, and this deal will lead to $72 million in tariff savings.

Tariffs will also come off sheep meat exports — an area the Government is encouraging farmers to embrace with the ban on live exports coming into place in 2028 — which will save about $2.5 million on the $230 million trade.

Roger Fletcher, director of Fletcher International which farms sheep and grain and owns abattoirs in Albany and Dubbo, said the trade deal would cut costs for Australian businesses competing on world markets.

“The Middle East is a growing market for premium Australian lamb. The elimination of import tariffs and the inclusion of trade facilitation measures will make Australian farm products more competitive in the UAE market,” he said.

The deal will also make jewellery, perfumes, furniture, copper wire, glass containers and plastic imported from the Middle East cheaper for Australians, saving households and businesses about $40 million a year.

Senator Farrell anticipates the new agreement will pave the way for large investments into critical minerals and clean energy projects in Australia.

In 2023, two-way investment between Australia and the UAE was worth $20.6 billion.

After India struck a trade deal with the UAE, investment there tripled within a year.

“The UAE has some of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. A trade agreement with the UAE will facilitate investment, which is important to achieving the Albanese Government’s ambition of becoming a renewable energy superpower,” Senator Farrell said.

Resources Minister Madeleine King was also optimistic about the future prospects.

“This deal is great news for Western Australia in particular, with farmers and miners set to benefit from the removal of tariffs on goods such as sheep meat and alumina,” she said.

“Importantly, this package will also encourage investment in critical minerals, helping grow a sector vital to a future made in Australia.”