‘No plans': Aussie supermarkets, fast-food giants reject US beef

News.com.au

5 days ago

Woolworths, Coles and McDonald's say they will not import US beef following Australia's loosening of biosecurity restrictions.
In a contentious move, the federal government has allowed Canadian and Mexican cattle killed in the US to be imported into Australia. Following the change to this 20-year policy, the Trump administration slapped Australia with the lowest of its universal tariff rates, applying a 10 per cent levy on Australian exports.
Despite the North American beef now allowed to land in Australia, consumers are unlikely to see much US beef on supermarket shelves or in fast-food restaurants.
Aldi, Coles, McDonald's and Woolworths all say Australian customers will be eating homegrown beef.
'We apply an Australia-first approach, and 100 per cent of our fresh red meat is sourced directly from Australian farmers, with whom we have longstanding relationships,' a Woolworths spokesperson told NewsWire.
'We have no plans to change that approach.'
Spokespeople for Aldi and Coles say there are no plans to change from 100 per cent Australian beef.
Some 80 million kilos of beef are dished out by the Golden Arches each year, and McDonald's too says it will not be buying from North America.
'We'll continue to source 100 per cent Aussie beef for our menu and provide our customers with the great taste, quality, and value they know and love.'
Last month, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed Australia would remove the ban on American beef from cattle originating in Canada and Mexico after a decade-long review.
The US has similar, granular farm animal tracing as in Australia that largely stamps out diseases spreading from beast to beast. Regulations are more lax in Canada and Mexico.
The federal opposition criticised the move, suggesting Australia had bargained away its biosecurity to get a better negotiating position with the Trump administration over the President's sweeping global tariffs. The government rejected this claim.
The Nationals also called for an independent review of the US beef import rules.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Australia changing its rules was a nod to President Trump's acumen.
'This is yet another example of the kind of market access the President negotiates to bring America into a new golden age of prosperity, with American agriculture leading the way,' Ms Rollins said last month.
'It's absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years.'
In the wake of President Trump's economy-rattling 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements earlier this year, countries have been scrambling to carve out exemptions or deals with the US.
Australia and the US have a free trade agreement, and in 2024, the US exported twice as much to Australia as it imported from Down Under – $50.6bn versus $23.8bn.
Despite the trade agreement and Australia being in a trade deficit, the US administration put its global baseline 10 per cent excise on Australian products.