Nationals Leader David Littleproud demand Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rules out kowtowing on US beef imports
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'needs to' immediately rule out kowtowing to Donald Trump on biosecurity laws on US beef imports, Nationals Leader David Littleproud has demanded.
Government officials reportedly told The Sydney Morning Herald that Australia could alter its biosecurity laws to allow US beef exports without risks to local industry, in a move to appease Trump as he wages his trade war.
Australia banned US beef in 2003 after a mad cow disease outbreak before undoing this in 2019 when the outbreak subsided.
Cattle raised in Mexico and Canada but slaughtered in the US is still banned, however, this could be changed according to the report.
Mr Littleproud raised concerns about Australia's cattle industry on Friday and urged the Prime Minister not to use the sector as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the US President.
'There needs to be certainty. The Prime Minister needs to rule it out immediately,' the Nationals Leader said on Sky News.
'He needs to make sure that he's very clear with Australian producers that our biosecurity standards will not be reduced and that … if we want to get imports that originated from Mexico or Canada, that there's some traceability on it like Australian producers have.'
He called for the Prime Minister to be transparent with Australian beef producers as concerns fester about the nation's biosecurity following this report.
'I don't think Australian producers are asking for anything unfair here, they're just trying to protect their production systems, making sure that they can not only feed Australians but feed the world,' Mr Littleproud said.
'The Prime Minister and his department who are mooting these things need to be very, very clear with Australian beef producers that it's not on the table and it won't be on the table at all.
'But when you start getting these reports - you don't start seeing these reports unless there's smoke and when there's smoke, there's fire.'
Australia exports more than $4b of beef to the US annually, making it the largest market for Aussie beef exports behind China.
After Trump revealed his sweeping tariffs and invited impacted nations to negotiate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to protect the nation's biosecurity laws, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and news publishers against tech giants.
'We will not weaken the measures that protect our farmers and producers from the risks of disease or contamination,' he said in a statement.
Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker issued a statement highlighting the importance of traceability for foreign-produced beef.
'Our position is that the US needs to be able to demonstrate it can either trace cattle born in Mexico and Canada, or has systems that are equivalent to Australia's traceability, before imports of meat could occur from non-US cattle,' Mr Parker said.
'Cattle Australia is in ongoing communication with the Federal Government regarding this issue and the vital importance that our science-based biosecurity system is not compromised as part of trade discussions with any country.'
Mr Albanese is expected to have a meeting with Trump either on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada or in the US later in June where the Prime Minister will make Australia's case for tariff exemptions.
Australia faces 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium alongside a broad 10 per cent levy on all goods, which is still paused by the Trump Administration.
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"Australia is at least as good an ally of the United States as the United Kingdom is and so there's no reason why the prime minister shouldn't at least be able to secure that exemption," Senator Paterson told ABC's Insiders program. Senator Farrell met with US trade representative Jamieson Greer last week and said he pushed the case for all of the economic measures to be removed. The minister was hopeful a similar approach that removed $20 billion worth of tariffs on Australian goods entering China could be used with America. "We didn't retaliate on that occasion, and bit by bit, we managed to get all of those tariffs that had been applied on Australia by China removed. I'd like to do the same with the United States," he said. "It's only by open discussion, honest discussion with out allies in the United States that I think we can do that." Senator Paterson said the coalition would be open to the idea of a critical minerals stockpile that could be used as a bargaining chip in any tariff negotiations. "It is something that Australia could do which would represent an economic opportunity and a strategic contribution," he said. As the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Australia to increase its defence spending by billions of dollars to 3.5 per cent of GDP, Senator Farrell said the federal government had already proved its commitment through the AUKUS submarine deal. Australia is looking to up its total spent on defence to 2.3 per cent. "We are committed to the defence of this country, we are committed to a significant uplift in the amount of spending," Senator Farrell said. "(AUKUS) is going to be a project that's worth more than $360 billion, so I think we've talked the talk." Senator Paterson said the opposition was still committed to its election platform of increasing defence spending to three per cent. 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All other Australian exports to the US have been slapped with a 10 per cent tariff. But opposition finance spokesman James Paterson said any meeting between the prime minister and US president should have happened sooner. He said an exemption on steel and aluminium secured by the UK showed it was possible Australia could receive a similar outcome. "Australia is at least as good an ally of the United States as the United Kingdom is and so there's no reason why the prime minister shouldn't at least be able to secure that exemption," Senator Paterson told ABC's Insiders program. Senator Farrell met with US trade representative Jamieson Greer last week and said he pushed the case for all of the economic measures to be removed. The minister was hopeful a similar approach that removed $20 billion worth of tariffs on Australian goods entering China could be used with America. "We didn't retaliate on that occasion, and bit by bit, we managed to get all of those tariffs that had been applied on Australia by China removed. I'd like to do the same with the United States," he said. "It's only by open discussion, honest discussion with out allies in the United States that I think we can do that." Senator Paterson said the coalition would be open to the idea of a critical minerals stockpile that could be used as a bargaining chip in any tariff negotiations. "It is something that Australia could do which would represent an economic opportunity and a strategic contribution," he said. As the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Australia to increase its defence spending by billions of dollars to 3.5 per cent of GDP, Senator Farrell said the federal government had already proved its commitment through the AUKUS submarine deal. Australia is looking to up its total spent on defence to 2.3 per cent. "We are committed to the defence of this country, we are committed to a significant uplift in the amount of spending," Senator Farrell said. "(AUKUS) is going to be a project that's worth more than $360 billion, so I think we've talked the talk." Senator Paterson said the opposition was still committed to its election platform of increasing defence spending to three per cent. Australia will keep pressuring the US to remove tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, the trade minister says, ahead of a likely meeting between Anthony Albanese and the president. The two leaders could meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada next week, with the economic measures imposed by Mr Trump around the world set to dominate discussions. As Australia looks to negotiate for an exemption on tariffs, Trade Minister Don Farrrell was optimistic a deal could be reached. "I certainly haven't given up on the prospect of getting these tariffs removed, and every opportunity I get, I'll continue to pursue that argument with the United States," he told Sky News on Sunday. "There is no justification for the United States to impose tariffs on Australia ... we want all of the tariffs removed, not just some of them." Mr Trump recently signed off on doubling tariffs on exports on steel and aluminium from 25 to 50 per cent. All other Australian exports to the US have been slapped with a 10 per cent tariff. But opposition finance spokesman James Paterson said any meeting between the prime minister and US president should have happened sooner. He said an exemption on steel and aluminium secured by the UK showed it was possible Australia could receive a similar outcome. "Australia is at least as good an ally of the United States as the United Kingdom is and so there's no reason why the prime minister shouldn't at least be able to secure that exemption," Senator Paterson told ABC's Insiders program. Senator Farrell met with US trade representative Jamieson Greer last week and said he pushed the case for all of the economic measures to be removed. The minister was hopeful a similar approach that removed $20 billion worth of tariffs on Australian goods entering China could be used with America. "We didn't retaliate on that occasion, and bit by bit, we managed to get all of those tariffs that had been applied on Australia by China removed. I'd like to do the same with the United States," he said. "It's only by open discussion, honest discussion with out allies in the United States that I think we can do that." Senator Paterson said the coalition would be open to the idea of a critical minerals stockpile that could be used as a bargaining chip in any tariff negotiations. "It is something that Australia could do which would represent an economic opportunity and a strategic contribution," he said. As the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Australia to increase its defence spending by billions of dollars to 3.5 per cent of GDP, Senator Farrell said the federal government had already proved its commitment through the AUKUS submarine deal. Australia is looking to up its total spent on defence to 2.3 per cent. "We are committed to the defence of this country, we are committed to a significant uplift in the amount of spending," Senator Farrell said. "(AUKUS) is going to be a project that's worth more than $360 billion, so I think we've talked the talk." Senator Paterson said the opposition was still committed to its election platform of increasing defence spending to three per cent.
