President Trump’s administration labeled Australia’s move to lift restrictions on U.S. beef imports as a “major” breakthrough, arguing it will give more market access to American farmers and ranchers.
Australia’s Agriculture Minister Julie Collins announced Australia’s capital of Canberra would ease biosecurity restrictions on U.S. beef imports after her department completed an assessment which has been conducted over the span of about five years.
“This decision has been purely based on science and a rigorous assessment by my department. Our biosecurity risk assessment process is very robust, and I have faith in the officials in my department to do this appropriately,” Collins told reporters Wednesday.
“My department officials have been across in the US. They’ve gone along the entire supply chain, including in abattoirs and cutting houses in the U.S., to ensure the safety and security of any beef along the supply chain that may come into Australia, and my experts are assured and are confident that we have this assessment correct,” Collins added.
Australia has permitted the import of cattle raised in the U.S. since 2019, although it has not allowed imports of U.S. beef from cattle raised in Mexico and Canada over mad cow disease risks.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins lauded the announcement as a “major trade breakthrough” that would allow U.S. farmers greater access to the Australian market.
“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 in a statement late Wednesday.
“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,” Rollins added.
Trump hammered Australia’s beef import restrictions in April when he announced that he would be imposing a 10 percent tariff on Canberra.
“Yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef,” Trump said at the time. “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.”
