What's in the new UK-Australia trade deal?
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Britain and Australia announced a free trade deal on Tuesday which the British government hailed as an important step in building new trade relationships following its departure from the European Union. Here are some of the key details. TARIFFS AND RED TAPE  Overall the deal removes tariffs on 4.3 billion pounds ($6.06 billion) of British goods exports, which means Britain will be able to sell cars and Scotch whisky to Australia without tariffs. Britain has said its deal will also benefit trade in services by cutting red tape. British and Australian companies will also find it easier to bid for procurement projects in each country. MEAT TRADE  Australia will receive generous quotas for tariff-free shipments of beef and lamb into Britain. The quotas will steadily increase until tariffs are abolished after 10 years. Further "safeguard" duties covering the following five years will kick in if imports exceed certain thresholds during a calendar year, according to the Australian government. While Downing Street has described these measures as a 15-year protection for British farmers against tariff-free imports from Australia, it currently means Australia can greatly ramp up its exports of red meat before tariffs become an issue. Australia will be given immediate access to a duty-free sheep meat quota of 25,000 tonnes when the deal starts - far in excess of shipments to Britain of 7,788 tonnes made in 2019, according to Australian government data. By contrast, Australia often uses up its duty-free sheep meat quota for the entire European Union, which currently stands at 19,186 tonnes. So unlike with the EU, Britain's trade deal means that Australian exports of red meat to Britain can rise sharply before tariffs become an issue. BRITS ABROAD  Britons under the age of 35 will find it easier to work in Australia for up to three years under the new deal, while British lawyers will be able to practice there without needing to retrain. The enhanced freedom to move will work both ways - something that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday described as a "brain gain" rather than a potential "brain drain" for either country. PACIFIC TRADE GATEWAY  Britain has applied to join a trans-Pacific trading bloc, of which Australia is also a member, that includes other countries where ministers predict demand for digital, legal and professional services will grow rapidly. That deal, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is also seen as important economic counterweight to China's influence in the region. Both Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that they viewed the UK-Australia trade deal as a precursor to CPTPP membership. ($1 = 0.7100 pound) (Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Jonathan Oatis)