UK-Australia MoU shows the way for future progress in UK-EU reset

The MoU is intended “to reduce barriers to trade and improve market access.”

The UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) and National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that will “deepen collaboration and support trade and regulatory alignment” between the two countries.

In an agreement described by UKAS Chief Executive Matt Ganley as “an important milestone”, the two national accreditation bodies will work more closely together in a range of areas, including the facilitation of regulatory cooperation “to reduce barriers to trade and improve market access.”

Against a backdrop of tariffs and trade wards, the announcement shows the UK’s commitment to international collaboration. The MoU with NATA may also prompt hopes that the UK Government will seek further regulatory cooperation with larger trading partners closer to home. 

Pursuing greater alignment with the European Union - the UK’s largest and most important trading partner and export market - would deliver a significant boost to the UK economy. A UK-EU agreement on accreditation did not make it into the recent trade deal announced in May. However, the agreement that annual UK-EU summits will now take place means that alignment on goods trade could be revisited at a future Summit. 

According to independent analysis, mutual recognition between the UK and EU could add up to 1.5% to UK GDP growth, and boost UK exports by tens of billions of pounds annually. In advance of the May UK-EU Summit, UKAS joined with multiple UK and European business groups in calling for a mutual recognition agreement on conformity assessments to be included as part of the negotiations.