U.K. and Australia Trade Deal Broadly Finalized

Source: The Guardian

The United Kingdom has agreed to a deal with Australia in what would be its first such trade agreement since the exit from the European Union.

• The trade deal was struck on Monday evening after a meeting between U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. 
• A spokesperson for the Department for International Trade confirmed that general terms were finalized, but additional details would be announced on Tuesday morning.
• Johnson and Morrison had dinner at Downing Street where they had Welsh lamb, Scottish smoked salmon, and Australian wine while they ironed out details of the deal.
• The agreement will be the U.K.’s first to be negotiated from scratch since its exit from the E.U. in 2020.
• British farmers earlier raised concerns over the possibility of removing tariffs and quotas which would leave them at a disadvantage.
• Prior to the news leak, Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle called out Johnson for going to dinner instead of explaining the delay on the COVID-19 roadmap.