A Survey of Australians’ Attitudes to Trade with the European Union

Our new survey of Australians’ attitudes shows a strong level of support for the European Union (EU) and in particular for a free trade agreement with the EU, with over 82% either strongly or somewhat supporting the deal, and less than 2% against.

The Institute of International Trade (IIT) commissioned the survey of over 1700 Australians across Australia in April 2024, and the survey was conducted by Insightfully, a respected market and social research firm.  

Respondents were asked to rate their attitudes on 15 different measures. While some media commentary paints the European Union as unpopular, aloof or anti-business, Australians see the EU positively, and are very positive towards a trade agreement. The results were even more positive when Australians’ attitudes towards the European Union were compared with attitudes towards two of our other main trading partners, the United States and China. The European Union was also seen as a more reliable trading partner and as closer to Australian values, than the US.

Australians were asked to rank the benefits of an FTA in level of importance. They were clearly more focussed on wider benefits, such as it being good for the economy, for jobs, for Australian manufacturers and exporters, rather than for personal benefits such as cheaper cars, technology, food or wine. We also asked about Geographical Indicators (GI) as much of the media commentary has focused on this issue. We found that 30% were definitely aware of the issue, while 26% were probably aware of the issue, and, surprisingly there was a lower awareness in regional areas.

READ SURVEY REPORT HERE

READ MEDIA RELEASE

The views expressed here are the author’s, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Institute for International Trade.