US President Donald Trump has applauded Australia’s relaxation of import restrictions on American beef, adding that other countries that refuse US beef products are on notice.
Australia on Thursday said it would loosen biosecurity rules for US beef, something analysts predicted would not significantly increase US shipments because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter whose prices are much lower.
Australia plans to take US beef for the “first time,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, calling it a “very big market”.
Canberra has restricted US beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Since 2019, it has allowed in meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the US but few suppliers were able to prove that their cattle had not been in Canada and Mexico.
Last night, in another post, Trump said the US would “sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that US Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World.”
“The other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE,” the post continued.
Trump has attempted to renegotiate trade deals with numerous countries he says have taken advantage of the United States – a characterisation many economists dispute.
“For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on US beef,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, calling Australia’s decision a “major milestone in lowering trade barriers and securing market access for US farmers and ranchers”.
Australia is not a significant importer of beef but the United States is and a production slump is forcing it to step up purchases.
Last year, Australia shipped almost 400,000 metric tonnes of beef worth $US2.9 billion ($A4.4 billion) to the United States, with just 269 tonnes of US product moving the other way.
Australian officials say the relaxation of restrictions was not part of any trade negotiations but the result of a years-long assessment of US biosecurity practices.
On Wednesday, Australia’s agriculture ministry said US cattle traceability and control systems had improved enough that Australia could accept beef from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and slaughtered in the United States.
The decision has caused some concern in Australia, where biosecurity is seen as essential to prevent diseases and pests from ravaging the farm sector.
“We need to know if (the government) is sacrificing our high biosecurity standards just so Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can obtain a meeting with US President Donald Trump,” shadow agriculture minister David Littleproud said in a statement.
Australia, which imports more from the US than it exports, faces a 10 per cent across-the-board US tariff, as well as 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Trump has also threatened to impose a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals.
Asked whether the change would help achieve a trade deal, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said: “I’m not too sure”.
“We haven’t done this in order to entice the Americans into a trade agreement,” he said.
“We think that they should do that anyway.”
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