**Do UK people see this as the last nail in the coffin for their dreams of CANZUK as some sort of antidote to Brexit?**  

*“Australia and the European Union (EU) are on the cusp of finally reaching a free trade agreement after years of sometimes fraught negotiations, with both sides increasingly optimistic that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and EU President Ursula von de Leyen will be able to sign a deal within weeks.*

*Talks have long been stalled after collapsing spectacularly in 2023, and Trade Minister Don Farrell has been adamant Australia will not sign a deal unless the EU agrees to tear down tariff barriers to larger quantities of agricultural exports such as beef and lamb.*

*Both sides have also been negotiating over working rights and labour mobility, Australia's luxury car tax, and the use of geographical indicators that could stop Australian producers using labels such as "fetta" and "prosecco".*

*Earlier this week Senator Farrell flew to Brussels for talks with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen, as both sides try to break the deadlock and strike a blow for free trade in the face of global economic fragmentation and the Trump administration's tariff assault.*

*Sources from the EU and Australia said the deal was now close.*

Australia and EU on the cusp of signing landmark free trade agreement