From the article:London | Australia has become one of the first...

From the article:

London | Australia has become one of the first countries to finish signing off trade deals with Britain that will prevent non-tariff barriers and regulatory hurdles from emerging after Brexit on over $3.8 billion of two-way trade.The Australian and British governments on Friday inked two deals that will replicate with post-Brexit Britain all of Australia's existing trade-liberalisation arrangements with the European Union in the manufacturing and wine industries. The first pact covers wine: under the longstanding EU-Australia Wine Agreement, European governments accept Australian labelling standards, certification procedures and winemaking practices, which differ from those in the EU.Australia will now have an identical agreement with Britain, avoiding potentially costly new requirements after Brexit on at least $470 million of annual Australian wine exports to the British market.In the manufacturing sector, the new Australia-Britain Mutual Recognition Agreement on Conformity Assessment (MRA) means that a drug, car or medical device can be certified against British standards before leaving Australia for export to Britain – and vice versa.The goods can thus be tested in-country before export, rather than being shipped first and then tested and certified at much greater cost in the receiving country.This streamlines export processes, and prevents certification and approval processes from becoming a kind of "behind the border" non-tariff barrier."This agreement will help give UK and Australian businesses, exporters and consumers the certainty they need to continue trading in confidence as the UK leaves the EU," Britain's Trade Secretary Liam Fox said in a statement before he and Australian High Commissioner George Brandis signed the MRA in London.The MRA covers about one-third of British goods exports to Australia, and is of particular importance in ensuring the continued smooth flow of British-made pharmaceutical and medical products into Australia."This demonstrates that when Brexit occurs, on whatever terms that may be, the relationship between Australia and the United Kingdom, the very strong trading relationship that already exists, will continue unaffected," Mr Brandis said at the signing.The agreements are significant given reports Britain has failed to finalise most trade deals needed to replace the EU's existing agreements with 40 leading economies. According to a memo seen by the Financial Times, civil servants warned most of the deals would lapse without a transition period that keeps Britain under the EU umbrella once Brexit occurs.The wine industry had been keenly awaiting the rollover of the EU-Australia Wine Agreement. At a parliamentary hearing on January 9, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association urged the British government to cross the finish line."Without rolling over that agreement, some of the wine that is exported to the UK would have to be re-labelled. And there is a bit of mutual recognition of winemaking practices, which needs to be provided for," WSTA international affairs director Simon Stannard told the International Trade Committee. "We're very keen for that to be rolled over and in force as soon as Britain leaves the EU."Moving on to an FTABoth the wine agreement and MRA now need to be formally ratified by the British and Australian parliaments before Brexit.The next challenge might be finding time for this in the British parliamentary schedule, given how consumed the House of Commons is by negotiations on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal with the EU.That Brexit debate will determine how much further Australia and Britain can go in liberalising trade on a bilateral basis.