Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bragg for his supplementary question. We know that free and open trade will continue to drive economic growth as we emerge from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the coalition government is supporting Australian exporters to compete freely, fairly and securely. In fact, in last month's budget, we also announced significant new support to Australian exporters to ensure they can expand and diversify their markets as widely as possible.

Despite COVID-19, Australia recorded a record trade surplus of $73 billion in 2020, up from $68 billion in 2019. Since this government was elected in 2013, the percentage of our trade covered by FTAs has grown from 26 per cent to what will be 75 per cent once the UK FTA takes effect. We welcome every opportunity to further diversify our exports because, the more diversified your exports are, the better placed you are for the peaks and troughs of global commodity trade. (Time expired)