Australia lifts US beef ban after Trump demands
Since 2019, Australia has allowed US beef into the country but had concerns about cattle born in Mexico and Canada that was slaughtered in America, resulting in no beef coming from the US to Australia because supply chains are largely integrated between the countries.
This masthead revealed last month that the Albanese government was considering lifting the restrictions on US access to Australia's beef market via biosecurity review amid trade talks between the two countries over Trump's 10 per cent import tariff.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said in a statement on Thursday morning that the government would not compromise on biosecurity but said a departmental review had done a rigorous scientific process before recommending the change to import rules for beef.
'The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks,' Collins said. 'Australia stands for open and fair trade – our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this.'
Trump and his commerce secretary have sharply criticised Australia's rules on beef imports, which were designed to keep Australia free of diseases found in cattle overseas.
'Our farmers are blocked from selling almost anywhere ... Australia won't let us sell beef,' US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in April.
Experts, including former inspector-general of biosecurity Helen Scott-Orr, told this masthead in April that Australia's disease-free status depended on strict biosecurity protocols.
'We do not use them [biosecurity protocols] as non-tariff trade barriers. When other countries query our biosecurity requirements, we have to justify them and show that we are applying proper controls to allow trade to all those countries to continue,' Scott-Orr said.
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