A free trade agreement between the EU and Australia would be an important signal in the deteriorated trade climate in the world created by the Trump administration's tariff shock, according to Benjamin Dousa.
It would send a very clear signal that when the US closes itself in, raises tariffs, then Europe and Sweden open up, he says.
In broad outline finished
A draft agreement is in principle already complete from the previous trade negotiations between the EU and Australia, which were interrupted for domestic political reasons in Australia in 2023, according to Benjamin Dousa.
The agreement is largely fully negotiated, which means that it's almost just a matter of signing for both parties and then we can have a very positive agreement in place already this year, he tells TT.
He believes that the conditions are better now than in 2023, when Labor leader Anthony Albanese recently got a mandate to continue as prime minister.
If one were to go by the calculations that have been made based on this draft, a free trade agreement between the EU and Australia could increase the EU's combined GDP by around 40 billion over five years, while exports to Australia could increase by 30 percent, according to Dousa. He adds that it could also get a decent boost to investment flows between the EU and Australia.
The export goods that we from the Swedish side see have the greatest potential are transport equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and above all, engineering products, which today account for 35 percent of our export to Australia, he says.
We would all be winners on that, just like it always is with free trade, he adds.
Trying to convince EU countries
Sweden is as a small and export-dependent country by tradition one of the more free trade-friendly EU countries. However, Dousa hopes that it will be possible to convince more EU countries of the benefits of free trade in the situation that prevails after US President Donald Trump's tariff shock.
Sweden is trying to convince the EU countries that are unsure of how to vote, he says.
Joakim Goksör/TT
Facts: EU agreement on the way with several countries
TT
The EU Commission is already negotiating trade agreements with a group of South American countries in what is called Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay). This could be completed this year.
Negotiations are also underway between the EU and Mexico to broaden an existing trade agreement, so that more categories and products are covered.
India – notorious for protectionism and trade barriers – and Indonesia are two other major economies where the EU is said to be close to reaching a deal with a trade agreement.
