"The more doors to more markets I can open for Australian business to enter the better. That's my goal. Free trade and open markets are a big part, a huge part of our 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth," he told the Policy Exchange think tank in London on Monday. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hamburg. Credit:Andrew Meares And standing alongside May at 10 Downing Street, Turnbull delivered a message designed to reassure Brits still grappling with the near-overwhelming complexity and uncertainty of a post-Brexit world. "We move quickly. Australians are fleet of foot. We don't muck around. We are very simple. We will move as quickly as the UK will move and we'll move as soon as Britain is lawfully able to enter into a free trade agreement," he said. May highlighted the £14 billion trade relationship between the two nations and said it was Britain's clear intention to deepen trade and investment links once Brexit was achieved.

"Our Brexit negotiations have started well. And I made clear to Prime Minister Turnbull that an ambitious and comprehensive bilateral trade deal with Australia remains a priority for the UK." Turnbull and Ms May visit Borough Market in London. Credit:Andrew Meares But both nation's leaders are, of course, weakened politically and attempting to stare down internal strife at present. And formal negotiations for a trade deal cannot begin until Britain has left the EU, under current EU rules. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in London this week where he urged a return to the sensible centre. Credit:Andrew Meares

However, a working group has been set up to "scope" some of the issues that will be the subject of the negotiation, Australia's high commissioner Alexander Downer said on Monday. A free trade deal with Britain would likely cover trade in both goods and services, and issues such as digital trade and mutual recognition of professional qualifications, Mr Downer said. The PM's speech in London ripped open fresh scars in the current battle for the Coalition's hearts and minds. Credit:Andrew Meares Tea, jam, biscuits and beer Last October the British government launched a "food and drink international action plan" that gave some hints at its export plans for post-Brexit Britain.

It intends to sell Australia more tea, biscuits, jam and beer. The plan identified Australia and New Zealand as the first of nine "priority target markets" for an additional £293 million ($480m) in exports over the next five years. "Australia offers a great opportunity for UK products," the plan said. "There are specific opportunities in traditional British ambient grocery products [tea, biscuits and preserves], health, well-being and free-from and alcoholic drinks (beer and cider). Agriculture could be a key sticking point, however, in negotiations - a point Australia's Trade Minister Steve Ciobo acknowledges. "Agriculture is traditionally one of the toughest areas to negotiate, but it is a big part of the agenda here," he said, adding that financial services and education are other sectors of the Australian economy likely to benefit.

While Australia will push hard for agriculture trade barriers to fall, Brexit means the end of EU subsidies for Britain's agricultural sector, so Australia's push to knock down tariffs could meet resistance. Professor Steve Woolcock, head of the London School of Economics' trade policy unit, said there would be "difficult decisions" once Australia and Britain got past the stage of general principles of the proposed trade agreement. "The area in which Australia is most interested [for free trade] is I suppose agricultural products," Professor Woolcock said. "It is not yet clear what sort of an agricultural trade policy the UK will have [after Brexit] – that is, what is the balance between lower-priced imports and the survival of some vulnerable agricultural sectors. "On goods and tariffs there may not be too much difficulty concluding an agreement [but] in general I would say that enthusiasm [in the UK] for quick FTAs is likely to fade once the trade-offs in terms of policy choices became apparent." Even once a deal is negotiated, it cannot be put into effect until Britain has also left the European customs union.

And the British chancellor has already foreshadowed that this could be some time after the Brexit deadline of March 2019. The British government has already contemplated a transition or implementation phase following the Brexit deadline. This month, the Confederation of British Industries, the UK's leading business organisation, called for the UK to stay within both the single market and the customs union until it has secured a trade deal with the EU. CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said the most sensible option was simply to stay in both the single market and customs union until the next step was secured. "Instead of a cliff edge, the UK needs a bridge to the new EU deal. Even with the greatest possible goodwill on both sides, it's impossible to imagine the detail will be clear by the end of March 2019," Ms Fairbairn said.

Improved access for Australians The Australian government also hopes it can use the FTA negotiations to wedge back open the door for Australians seeking work visas in Britain. Australians have been caught in a visa crackdown – the result of a British government policy to reduce immigration – which has made it much more expensive and onerous to get a work visa. Ciobo says the movement of people between the two countries will be examined as part of negotiations but signals change on this front could be difficult. So how quickly could an Australia-UK free trade deal happen, and would it be a priority for the Brits?

A senior UK industry insider familiar with Whitehall said after Brexit there would be "capacity issues" limiting the number of trade deals the British government could work on at any one time. One view is that on the numbers - taking account of who Britain's biggest export partners are and the markets that are growing the most rapidly - Australia would be down the list. But the contrary view is that Australia is an "easy win" – not the biggest prize, but much more achievable – making it much more of a priority for Brexit Britain. "It makes sense for the government to push quite hard on the Australian door," the insider said. Doing the deal

Professor Andrew Lang, from the LSE law department, predicted it would be hard for Australia to run equally intensive negotiations with the EU and Britain simultaneously, especially if they were also trying to salvage the TPP and TISA negotiations. That could mean Australia would only be able to turn its attention to the UK deal once its EU deal was concluded. "That said, there is genuine interest in a UK-Australia deal on both sides," Professor Lang said. "The UK has made clear that - after the EU and probably the US - it sees real potential in new trade deals with major Commonwealth countries, including Australia." Turnbull, for his part, reassured the Brits that Australia can negotiate multiple free trade deals at one time and, indeed, had done so in recent years when the China, Korea and Japan free trade deals were negotiated simultaneously. Or, as Ciobo puts it: "We can walk and chew gum at the same time".

But a London-based Australian businessman said the view at present was that the UK was using all its "A Team" negotiators for Brexit and that everything else, such as preliminary FTA negotiations, were on hold. Australia has offered to loan specialised trade negotiators to the UK, but so far, that deal has not been taken up Standing side by side in Number 10, May and Turnbull made all the right noises about a post-Brexit Britain that has drawn closer to Australia. "I know Theresa, that you believe passionately that the British people can do anything, can achieve anything, and that your post-Brexit Britain will be a Britain with big horizons, big opportunities, free trade, open markets," as Turnbull put it. The will is there for a Australia-Britain free trade deal that would draw back closer two nations connected by birth.

But the hard work is only just beginning. Loading Follow us on Facebook