| ▲ | josephg 17 hours ago |
| Australian here. Theres no way we’re joining the EU. Brussels is on the other side of the planet from Australia. Our major trading partners are nearby countries, like China, Japan, NZ, and the US. Not continental Europe. Europe is too far away. |
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| ▲ | ceejayoz 16 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| Brussels and DC are almost the same distance from Canberra. (Also Australian, but living in the US.) https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/southeast-asia-pacific/au... > U.S. goods and services (exports plus imports) trade with Australia totaled an estimated $102.0 billion in 2025, up 15.6 percent ($13.8 billion) from 2024. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/eu-australia... > In 2024, trade in goods and services between the European Union and Australia was worth over €91 billion. (That's $105B in FreedomBucks, and excludes the UK.) |
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| ▲ | josephg 16 hours ago | parent [-] | | > Brussels and DC are almost the same distance from Canberra. Yes. We’re not interested in joining the EU. And we’re not interested in becoming a US state. But trade doesn’t need to go all the way to DC. By plane, Sydney to LA is about - 13.5 hours. Sydney to Brussels is 20 hours. I imagine the difference is even greater for cargo ships, which can sail directly through the pacific. I have no idea how cargo goes from Australia to Europe. That sounds like a complex route. As for trade, the US is important but they’re not our most important trading partner. China accounts for $326 billion aud in trade annually. If your numbers are right, that’s more than our trade with the US and Europe combined. I suspect integrating into the EU single market wouldn’t be worth it for us. We’re not part of Europe. We’re not a European country. https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/china/china-country-brief | | |
| ▲ | ceejayoz 16 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | > We’re not interested in joining the EU. The article isn't about joining the EU (as the original post you replied to called it, "unlikely anyway"). > But trade doesn’t need to go all the way to DC. Nor Brussels; Perth to Greece via the Suez cuts the time, too. > As for trade, the US is important but they’re not our most important trading partner. OK, but the EU and US trade with Australia roughly equivalently per the numbers, and you said "Our major trading partners are nearby countries, like China, Japan, NZ, and the US. Not continental Europe." It's just a flatly false claim. | |
| ▲ | petre 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Chill, nobody said anything about Oz joining the EU. We live in quite different time zones. A free trade agreement on the other hand might work. Canada has one if the remaining 10 EU state would bother to actually ratify it. | | |
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| ▲ | s_dev 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| You might have missed this bit: >Even if Canada and Australia don't join the EU as full members which is unlikely anyway And like I point out, deeper ties are definitely on the table which is more like what will happen. The world is reorganising around US tariffs as a natural economic reaction here. |
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| ▲ | epihelix 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Did you read TFA (the Reuters one) that quotes the Australian trade minister? Or are you somehow more involved in determining trade agreements than the minister? Trump has upended decades of stable trade relationships. I would not assume anything right now. (To be clear, neither Canada nor Australia are claimed to be seeking to be EU members - but closer trade ties with the EU appear to be on the cards for both nations. When you can no longer trust the US to act in good faith, everything changes.) |
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| ▲ | hylaride 16 hours ago | parent [-] | | I suspect it'll be expanding the current trading agreement to allow more direct investment. Canada and Australia both have lots of raw materials the EU needs. I suspect you'll see more types of worker visas (similar to the old NAFTA T1 styles that allow relatively easy sponsorship of employees). I'd love to have full rights to live and work in the EU, but I'd be happy just being able to visit the EU as a Canadian and use the EU customs lines. I don't think Canada would go for full mobility. We're just now dealing with the backlash of too many immigrants from South Asia, a "flood" of poorer Eastern Europeans would probably rekindle that. |
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