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Subs won’t ‘derail’ EU, Australia trade talks
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FRENCH and Australian officials said yesterday that France’s anger over a canceled submarine contract will not derail negotiations on an Australia-European Union free trade deal.
France withdrew its ambassadors to the United States and Australia after US President Joe Biden revealed last week a new tripartite alliance including Australia and Britain that would allow Australia to amass a fleet of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines.
The deal sunk a 90-billion Australian dollar (US$66 billion) contract for French majority state-owned Naval Group to provide 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines for Australia. The money would have been spent over 35 years.
French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault denied reports that France was lobbying the EU not to sign the trade deal with Australia that has been under negotiation since 2018.
“At this stage, negotiations do continue and there is a strong interest ... for Australia to have a free trade agreement with the EU,” Thebault told Australian Broadcasting Corp in Paris.
Such a deal “has the potential to deliver a huge amount of benefits for Australia,” Thebault added.
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said he would travel to Paris within weeks for trade negations and was “very keen to touch base with my French counterpart,” Franck Riester.
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