A top US official has trashed Australia’s biosecurity concerns and claimed they are being used to “block” American markets.
As the fallout from President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade measures continues to reverberate, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pointed to the 10 per cent tariff slapped on Australian goods to justify the executive order.
The United States has long taken issue with Australia’s ban on uncooked American beef imports, which has been in place since a 2003 mad cow disease outbreak.
Australia also does not allow fresh pork imports, uncooked poultry or pears and apples from the US to prevent pests and bacteria.
But Mr Lutnick decried these restrictions.
“This is nonsense, this is all nonsense,” he told CNN.
“What happens is, they block our markets.
“When we open those markets, our volumes grow, our farmers will thrive and the price of groceries will come down.”
There is some validity to the Americans’ accusations as Australia has used “beyond-the-border” tariffs, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said.
“Rather than imposing financial tariffs, we use the biosecurity regime as a form of trade policy,” she told AAP.
“Everyone involved in primary industries knows it, everyone that watches politics knows it.”
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have taken a bipartisan position on the issue with both promising not to undermine Australia’s biosecurity in US tariff negotiations.
Overnight, US and world stock markets sank amid fears the tariffs could spark a global trade war and recession.
Wall Street marked its biggest one-day percentage loss – nearly four per cent – since mid-2020 when the COVID pandemic was in play.
The Australian stock market is expected to follow suit when trading resumes on Friday morning.
Australia has been hit less hard by the tariffs as its rates rest on the baseline. There are some exemptions for important industries like pharmaceuticals, however the indirect impact of the measures remains a key concern.
“What we have seen overnight is a fall in the stock market globally,” Mr Albanese told ABC radio on Friday.
“There is concern that this will lead to lower economic growth right around the world, and of course, as a trading nation, that will have an impact on us.”
Negotiations are ongoing with the US administration and Mr Dutton believes his government could bring more to the table if it is elected .
“When we were in government last, we negotiated for Australia to be exempt and this prime minister has failed that test,” he told reporters in Sydney.
No country has successfully secured an exemption from US tariffs.
With a federal election on the horizon, the tariffs could provide leaders an opportunity to reinvigorate their campaigns.
“It’s an opportunity for both to show strength,” said Headline Advisory director Andrew Carswell, who previously served as a media adviser to former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison.
One country that has already used the tariffs as political fuel is Canada.
America’s northern neighbour will go to a national election less than a week before Australians take to their own ballot boxes on May 3.
The Canadian Liberal Party has completely turned around its political chances after appointing a new leader who has vowed to fight back with his “elbows up”, referencing a hockey move used to ward off others.
“You can see a template for turning this into a genuine election campaign issue, that is otherwise pretty devoid of policy,” Dr Sheppard said.
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