Latest news with #beefimports

RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Australian Prime Minister says easing of curbs on US beef not prompted by Trump
By Sam McKeith , Reuters The review had been in the works for 10 years, Albanese said (file image). Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a decision to ease rules on US beef imports was not prompted by US President Donald Trump. This week, Trump said the US would sell "so much" beef to Australia , after Canberra announced the relaxation of restrictions, potentially smoothing trade talks with Washington. In place since 2003, the curbs were due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy - or mad cow disease - which could kill cattle, as well as people who eat infected beef. When asked if the easing had anything to do with Trump, Albanese said: "No, this has been a process that has been there for 10 years, the review process." "This wasn't a political decision," Albanese said to Australian Broadcasting Corp television, adding that Trump had not raised the issue with him in a phone call. The comments come after US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the easing a win for Trump. In April, Trump singled out the beef trade disparity with Australia, after Australia's beef exports to the US surged last year, reaching AU$4 billion (NZ$4.36b) amid a slump in US beef production. By contrast, Australia's agriculture minister said the rules were relaxed, after a "rigourous science and risk-based assessment" concluded US measures to monitor and control cattle movement were effectively managing biosecurity risks. News of Australia changing its policy was first reported by the Australian Financial Review . The report said Australia would use the easing of rules to argue its case for the US to wind back 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium, and Trump's threat to impose a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals. The National Party - part of Australia's conservative opposition coalition - said "biosecurity should not be political" and called for an independent scientific panel to review the decision. A loosening of beef import rules is not expected to boost US shipments significantly, because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter, whose prices are much lower, according to analysts. Last year, Australia shipped almost 400,000 metric tons of beef worth US$2.9b (NZ$4.82b) to the United States, with just 269 tons of US product moving the other way. - Reuters


Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Australia's PM says easing of curbs on US beef not prompted by Trump
SYDNEY, July 27 (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that a decision to ease rules on beef imports from the U.S. was not prompted by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump this week said the U.S. would sell "so much" beef to Australia after Canberra announced the relaxation of restrictions, potentially smoothing trade talks with Washington. In place since 2003, the curbs were due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, which can kill cattle as well as people who eat infected beef. When asked on Sunday if the easing had anything to do with Trump, Albanese said "No, this has been a process that has been there for 10 years, the review process". "This wasn't a political decision," Albanese said in remarks on Australian Broadcasting Corp television, adding that Trump had not raised the issue with him in a phone call. The comments come after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the easing a win for Trump. In April, Trump singled out the beef trade disparity with Australia after Australia's beef exports to the U.S. surged last year, reaching A$4 billion amid a slump in U.S. beef production. By contrast, Australia's agriculture minister said the rules were relaxed after a "rigorous science and risk-based assessment" concluded that U.S. measures to monitor and control cattle movement were effectively managing biosecurity risks. News of Australia changing its policy was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. The report said Australia will use the easing of rules to argue its case for the U.S. to wind back 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium and Trump's threat to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. Collins said the decision was a purely scientific one. A loosening of beef import rules is not expected to boost significantly U.S. shipments because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter whose prices are much lower, according to analysts.


SBS Australia
24-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
Australia lifts biosecurity controls on US beef imports
Australia lifts biosecurity controls on US beef imports Published 24 July 2025, 9:20 am The White House has trumpeted Australia's decision to relax restrictions on US beef imports as an example of the US making 'Agriculture Great Again'. The Australian government is also under pressure to explain a lack of transparency over a major payment to the US for AUKUS amid the ongoing trade negotiations.


CBS News
24-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Trump admin. touts "major trade breakthrough" as Australia says it will ease U.S. beef import restrictions
Melbourne, Australia — Australia announced it will reduce restrictions on U.S. beef imports in a move President Trump's administration claimed as a major victory over "non-scientific trade barriers" to trade. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said Thursday that relaxing the restrictions designed to keep Australia free of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, would not compromise biosecurity. "Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this," Collins said in a statement. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins responded to Australia's announcement by congratulating Mr. Trump on a "major trade breakthrough that gives greater access to U.S. beef producers selling to Australia." She issued a statement under the headline: "Make Agriculture Great Again Trade Wins." "American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world. It's absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years," Rollins said. "Gone are the days of putting American farmers on the sidelines. 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." Australia has allowed imports of beef grown in the U.S. since 2019, but not allowed imports from the U.S. of beef sourced from Canada or Mexico because of the disease risk. The U.S. has recently introduced additional movement controls that identify and trace all cattle from Mexico and Canada to their farms of origin. Australian authorities were "satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the U.S. effectively manage biosecurity risks," Collins said. The timing of the new, reduced restrictions has not been finalized. Mr. Trump attacked Australian import restrictions on U.S. beef when he announced in April that tariffs of at least 10% would be placed on Australian imports, with steel and aluminum facing a 50% tariff. "Australia bans — and they're wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef," Mr. Trump told reporters then. "Yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don't blame them, but we're doing the same thing right now." Opposition lawmaker David Littleproud said he suspected the government was endangering Australia's cattle industry to appease Mr. Trump. "I want to see the science and it should be predicated on science. I'm suspicious of the speed at which this has been done," Littleproud told reporters. "We need to give confidence to the industry, but also to you (the public): this is not just about animal welfare, this is about human welfare, this is about BSE potentially coming into this country and having a human impact, so I think it's important the government's very transparent about the science and I don't think it's even beyond the question to have an independent panel review that science to give confidence to everybody," he added. Around 70% of Australian beef is exported. Producers fear that export market would vanish overnight if diseases including mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease infected Australian cattle. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been only six BSE cases in U.S. cattle since the major international outbreak of the disease — which was centered in the U.K. and other European nations — in the late 1980s and early 1990s. One of those cows was imported from Canada and believed to have been infected there, and the other five, "were diagnosed with atypical BSE, which many researchers believe to be a sporadic illness not caused by contaminated feed," the CDC says. Will Evans, chief executive of Cattle Australia who represents more than 52,000 grass-fed beef producers across the nation, said he was confident the agriculture department had taken a cautious approach toward U.S. imports. "The department's undertaken a technical scientific assessment and we have to put faith in them. They've made this assessment themselves. They've said: 'We've looked at this, we've looked at the best science, this is a decision that we feel comfortable with,'" Evans said. "When you have a $75 billion (Australian $50 billion) industry relying on them not making this mistake, I'm sure they've been very cautious in their decision-making," he added. But Australian demand for U.S. beef is likely to remain low despite the eased restrictions, for reasons including a relatively weak Australian dollar. Evans, of Cattle Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he wasn't worried about the new government policy flooding Australia's domestic market with American beef. He said the U.S. domestic market currently relieds on imports of Australian beef, which he said was about 50 cents cheaper than U.S. beef per pound. "The likelihood of them (U.S.) turning around and looking to Australia as a really high value market [to export to] is very low," he said. "If I was an exporter of U.S. beef, I would be looking at Japan, Korea and China as being really viable and valuable markets. I don't really think Australia rates highly on that list." Simon Quilty, an analyst with Global Agri Trends, agreed that it was unlikely Australian consumers would soon see U.S. beef in on their grocery stores shelves. "Honestly, if there is a pound of U.S. beef shipped to Australia in the next three years, I will be gobsmacked," he told ABC. Beef prices have been rising in the U.S. for years, due to factors including prolonged drought and shrinking domestic herd numbers. The average price of a pound of ground beef in the U.S. rose to $6.12 in June, up nearly 12% from a year ago, according to U.S. government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8% to $11.49 per pound. Australia's opposition to any U.S. tariffs will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secures his first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Trump. Albanese and Mr. Trump were to hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada last month, but the U.S. president left early. Albanese expects the pair will meet this year, although no date has been announced. The two countries have had a bilateral free trade deal for 20 years and the U.S. has maintained a trade surplus with Australia for decades.


SBS Australia
24-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
US hails move to drop 'absurd' beef ban, as Labor says 'nothing suspicious'
The United States has hailed Australia's decision to drop a partial ban on beef imports as a "major trade breakthrough" for Donald Trump and his administration, as the federal government faces questions over whether the move was made to appease the president. The Opposition has also raised biosecurity concerns over Thursday's announcement, with the federal government insisting the decision followed a decade-long science-based review. Many Australian cattle producers will have been left blindsided by the decision, an industry group says, but the level of American product arriving in Australia is expected to be very low. "American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world. It's absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years," US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. "Gone are the days of putting American farmers on the sidelines. 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." Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says Australia would "never compromise" on biosecurity. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas The US has been able to send beef to Australia since 2019, but any beef raised in Canada or Mexico before being slaughtered and processed in the US was previously barred due to biosecurity concerns. One concern was that Mexico's livestock tracking system could inadvertently lead producers to import beef from parts of the continent where there were disease outbreaks. But the latest announcement will lift the ban on beef sourced from Canada or Mexico after the US introduced more robust movement controls in late 2024 and early 2025, allowing for improved identification and tracing throughout the supply chain. The change is widely viewed as a bargaining chip Australia could use while attempting to push for tariff exemptions from the US. 'Nothing suspicious' about beef ban lift "It looks as though it's (biosecurity) been traded away to appease Donald Trump," Littleproud told ABC's Radio National on Thursday. He said the government has been "flat-footed" in negotiations and was now risking biosecurity to play "catch-up". Trade Minister Don Farrell said the timing had nothing to do with US calls, saying: "There's nothing suspicious about this". "If we want to export our beef overseas, then we have to accept that other countries will want to import their beef into Australia," he told Sky News. The Opposition has also raised biosecurity concerns, with frontbencher James Paterson calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to "stand up ... and explain" to Australia's beef farmers that the government hasn't "watered down" biosecurity. "The prime minister himself has said [in April] that we couldn't relax the restrictions on the importation of US beef because of serious biosecurity concerns," Paterson said. "So if the government has found some way of dealing with that issue, protecting our domestic agricultural industry from the introduction of foreign diseases and pests, then they should say so." Nationals leader David Littleproud has demanded further information about the decision, accusing the government of using the beef industry to play "catch up" in negotiations with US President Donald Trump. Source: AAP Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said it was something Australia would "never compromise" on. "The US beef imports review has undergone a rigorous science and risk-based assessment over the past decade," Collins said. "The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks." Australian producers may feel 'blindsided', but industry figures not rattled Cattle Australia CEO Will Evans believed the move would not have been made unless the government had the utmost confidence in the science, but said some would still be unhappy with its decision. "There's going to be a lot of people today who feel blindsided by this, there's going to be a lot of people who are going to feel really frustrated and threatened by this," he told ABC radio. "We need to talk to them. "The US is an incredibly important trading partner — we need to maintain access and we need to maintain relationships with them." Evans said the industry had "put faith" in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's expertise, with the deal largely favouring Australian exporters. "They've made this assessment themselves. They've said: 'look, we've looked at this. We've looked at the best science. This is a decision we feel comfortable with'," he said. Some have raised worries US beef could impact Australia's domestic market, but industry representatives remain relatively unperturbed. "It's a bit like selling ice to Eskimos," Australian Meat Industry Council CEO Tim Ryan told the ABC. Evans said the domestic beef industry is self-sufficient and any imports of US beef are "unlikely to have any effect on the market here". The US beef industry can't supply domestic demand, he said. The US remains one of the main export markets for Australian beef. — With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.