Risk of higher US tariffs looms despite beef deal

West Australian

3 days ago

Australia's move to lift restrictions on US beef is unlikely to shift the dial on tariff negotiations, as the nation's products face the possibility of even steeper duties.
The Albanese government will allow access to US beef that has been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America, following a safety review.
Australia is subject to a baseline 10 per cent tariff applied by the Trump administration and has been keeping an eye on the trade negotiations of other countries.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said Donald Trump's flagged higher tariffs might include the nation's exports.
"The risk for Australia is that we may be lucky to hang on to 10 per cent, which could actually turn out to be higher," he told AAP.
"This (beef decision) might help us hang on to 10 per cent or avoid a worse outcome, but I don't think there's any guarantees of that."
American beef was banned from Australia almost two decades ago following an outbreak of mad cow disease.
Mr Trump has pressured the government to ease restrictions as Labor argues for an exemption from the tariffs as part of the US president's deepening trade war.
Former ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos said while biosecurity investigations can take a while to finalise, it was a "sensible outcome".
"The challenge here is it doesn't look like we're putting together a package deal," he said.
"It'd be better if there was a package approach to this if we're seeking to gather an overall trade outcome with the US."
Australian Farm Institute executive director Katie McRobert said the cattle industry has been "extremely nervous" about biosecurity traceability from different parts of the north and South America regions.
"We wouldn't expect a significant impact on Australian producers from the potential to import American beef ... because we already produce far more beef in Australia than we can possibly eat," she said.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said he didn't have any meetings scheduled with American counterparts after last meeting US trade representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris in June.
Senator Farrell said Mr Greer didn't raise beef concerns at that meeting.
"We believe that America should lift those tariffs on Australia, there's no justification whatsoever for the United States to apply tariffs to Australia," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
"We have a free trade agreement, that agreement makes it very clear that it's a tariff free arrangement."
Senator Farrell also denied the move was to create a bargaining chip.
The Philippines and Japan recently struck agreements with the US to lower their tariff rates, but both are still above the 10 per cent baseline.