Trump administration declares victory after Australia lifts beef ban

The Trump administration is claiming victory after Australia gave in on a key trade demand.

The Trump administration is declaring victory after Australia agreed to lift restrictions on US beef imports.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed on Thursday Australia will remove the ban on American beef from cattle originating in Canada and Mexico after a decade-long review.

The Albanese government has been quick to deny the timing has anything to do with drawn-out tariff talks with the US.

But Ms Collins’ American counterpart gave a different story, issuing a statement “congratulating President Donald J. Trump on the major trade breakthrough that gives greater access to US beef producers selling to Australia”.

“American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world,” US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said.

“It’s absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years.

“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.”

Australian meat and poultry is the biggest Australian export to the US. Last year we shipped US $4 billion of meat across the Pacific.

Meanwhile, the Nationals have called for an independent review into the Albanese government’s decision.

Leader David Littleproud was briefed on it by the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, but told reporters officials failed to give basic details and answer simple questions.

That included queries about new US beef industry safeguards supposedly informing the change.

Mr Littleproud said he was seriously concerned the government “has not provided or released the protocols of which beef from the United States could be imported into this country”, calling it a break in precedent.

“The fact that they haven’t done that raises serious concerns to me around how this decision has been made and the timing of it,” he said.

“If it was well-planned, the department would be able to provide me with those details — they have not.

“I think the prudent way forward is to have an independent scientific panel review the department’s decision and the protocols when they come out.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud is calling for a independent review of the decision. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

The Greens have also raised concerns, with the minor party’s leader calling the timing “a bit sus”.

“The Greens are really concerned about the biosecurity impact of this decision, flooding the Australian market with lower quality, potentially biosecurity-risky beef,” she told reporters.

“It’s not going to be great for Australian farmers or consumers.

“I think anyone who’s buying beef should choose Australian.”

Decision based on ‘science’

Removing restrictions was one of Washington’s key demands in tariff negotiations, with Donald Trump accusing Australia of banning American beef during remarks on “liberation day” – the day the US imposed blanket tariffs on all foreign imports, including Australian products.

But both Ms Collins and Trade Minister Don Farrell have claimed it is simply a coincidence the beef review ended just weeks after the US President threatened a 200 per cent tariff on foreign-made pharmaceuticals.

“We haven’t made any compromise, and we certainly haven’t compromised Australia’s strict biosecurity laws,” Senator Farrell told reporters huddled in a Parliament House corridor on Thursday.

“This has been a process that’s been underway for the last 10 years.

“It’s now come to a completion, and it’s appropriate that we announce the results of that inquiry, but at no stage do we risk our terrific biosecurity standards for any trade arrangement.”

Trade Minister Don Farrell says he had no influence on the conclusion of a biosecurity review into US beef. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

As trade minister, Mr Farrell is spearheading efforts to get an Australian carve out from Mr Trump’s tariffs.

Pressed on the timing of the review’s end, the Labor heavyweight dismissed that he had a hand in it.

“I’m not in charge of when our officials make these decisions,” Senator Farrell said.

“Just as we export our product overseas and have to meet the biosecurity requirements of other countries, other countries … are entitled to make the same application to get their product into Australia.

“Countries do this on a routine basis.

“Our process has now been completed, and it’s appropriate that we publicly announce the results of that inquiry.”

During Mr Trump’s liberation day remarks in April, he was clearly aggrieved by the imbalance of the two-way beef trade.

“Australia bans – and they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything – but they ban American beef,” he said at the time.

“Yet we imported $(US) 3bn 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 … I don’t blame them, but we’re doing the same thing right now.”

He was not wrong on an imbalance, but also not totally right.

In 2019, Australia started letting in American beef from bovines born and bred in the US, partially ending a blanket ban following the 2003 mad cow disease outbreak.

But with a huge domestic supply, Australia has not imported any of the US’ offerings.

The US last year rolled out new standards tracing all cattle brought into the country from Canada and Mexico.

Similar to Australia’s own domestic tagging system, the new standards let authorities track cattle throughout the supply chain, all the way back to their originating farms.

In a rushed press appearance, Ms Collins said her department was happy with the new US regulations.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says the beef review’s conclusion is ‘purely based on science’. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

“My department has done a rigorous assessment,” she told reporters, noting again it has been “ongoing for around a decade”.

“My department has been doing a rigorous assessment of that in terms of the traceability of that beef and the systems through the US system.”

She added her “officials have been over in the US” as part of the process.

Ms Collins also denied the decision was based on anything other than “science”.

“Our biosecurity risk assessment process is very robust, and I have faith in the department to do this appropriately,” she said.

“These are experts in the field.

“Australia’s biosecurity system is well renowned for a reason, and this assessment has now been completed.”

The ban’s lifting comes just a day after Mr Trump announced a trade deal had been struck with Japan.

The deal dropped the threatened blanket 25 per cent levy to 15 per cent, which is still higher than the universal 10 per cent Australia has.

It also lowered the tariff on Japanese cars to 15 per cent – the lowest rate of any auto-making country.

‘Meeting with President Trump’

Even the prospect of changing biosecurity laws was enough to spark fury from the Nationals last month, with Mr Littleproud demanding Mr Albanese rule out any weakening of restrictions.

Mr Littleproud’s Coalition colleague, Liberal senator James Paterson, was noticeably cautious to give a read on the latest development when fronting Sky News.

The opposition finance spokesman said that it is “more easy than it ever has been to track the origin of species and cattle and other produce” and that “there’s no reason why that couldn’t be done by other countries as well”.

“Perhaps the Prime Minister has found a way through this problem,” Senator Paterson said.

“But if he has, he should explain how he’s done so.

“He should stand up today and explain to the beef farmers of Australia that there is no risk for their biosecurity and that he hasn’t watered it down.

“But if he has watered it down, I think this is what’s going to be a very difficult one for the government to explain.”

Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson says there is ‘no reason’ other countries cannot track cattle. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

The Albanese government was rattled earlier this month by the US President’s threat to slap a 200 per cent duty on foreign pharmaceuticals.

Australia exported some $2.2bn in pharmaceuticals to the US in 2024, making it the third-biggest export market.

The Trump administration has also not kept secret it is mulling further sectoral tariffs to impose on top of baseline and so-called “reciprocal” rates.

While Australia dodged the reciprocal tariffs earlier this year, it has not been able to escape levies of up to 50 per cent on steel and aluminium.

Senator Paterson said a “meeting with President Trump” would be a better way to get a tariff exemption, pointing out that Mr Albanese has not yet secured a face-to-face with the US leader.

“It is inexplicable that Australia, traditionally a tier-one US ally, has gone this long without a meeting between our prime minister and a new president,” he said.

“It’s extraordinary, frankly, countries who are far less close to the United States have managed to get audiences with the President in the Oval Office far earlier than this government even appears to have attempted to do so.

“So that is the critical thing that needs to be done if we’re to secure a good trade relationship, and, frankly, also safeguard AUKUS and our important national security relationship as well.”

While some governments have locked in trade deals with Washington, no country has managed to secure a complete exemption from the Trump administration’s tariffs.

Originally published as Trump administration declares victory after Australia lifts beef ban