EU pushes back Australia trade talks over France submarine snub

AUKUS deal puts goal of FTA by year-end further from reach

20211001 Aus France sub

French President Emmanuel Macron, second from left, and then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, center, on a Royal Australian Navy submarine in May 2018. (AAP image/Mick Tsikas)

FUMI MATSUMOTO and YASUO TAKEUCHI, Nikkei staff writers

SYDNEY/BRUSSELS -- The European Union has postponed free trade talks with Australia, signaling that tensions remained high after Canberra's decision to cancel a $40 billion submarine contract with France.

The Australian government said Friday that talks with Brussels scheduled for mid-October have now been pushed back to November, although it stressed that the process will continue.

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