For a major beef producer and exporter such as Australia, the announcement that the country will allow beef from the United States to be imported has been met with head-scratching and notes of concern. What has prompted this change? Will Australia’s meat be safe?
What has changed with Australia’s biosecurity laws on US beef?
The Albanese government has lifted the restrictions on US access to Australia’s beef market which had been in place for years following the outbreak of mad cow disease in the 1990s. The change in thinking on US beef exports coincides with the completion of a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry review of “bovines born and raised in Canada or Mexico and legally imported and slaughtered in the United States”. The review concluded: “Canada and Mexico apply rigorous control measures which will address Australia’s biosecurity concerns.”
The US is the biggest buyer of Australian beef.Credit: Bloomberg
Why did Australia have restrictions on US beef?
US beef was banned from Australia in 2003 following an outbreak of mad cow disease – an illness that can be fatal. With hardly any cases of mad cow disease on record in recent years, Australia blocked meat from cattle born in Mexico and Canada that was slaughtered in the US over concerns about its traceability should another outbreak occur. Nationals leader David Littleproud said the government should “commit to an independent scientific panel being formed to review [the Albanese government’s] decision so that we do have that confidence moving forward”.
Why did Donald Trump want the ban lifted?
US President Donald Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, conducting a sweeping review of all US trade relationships, have bristled at the restrictions on US beef by Australia. Although Trump and his administration have sought to personalise the politics, the issue has been a point of contention between Australian and American beef industries for years.
In 2024, Australia exported $4.4 billion in fresh, chilled or frozen beef to the US. Australia meanwhile maintained its prohibition on imports of beef processed in the US.
Donald Trump has previously singled out Australia’s restrictions on US beef.Credit: Bloomberg
What share of Australian beef goes to the US?
The US is the biggest buyer of Australian beef, although in recent years China has claimed the No.1 spot. Traditionally, Japan is often the No.1 importer of Australian beef. Australia exports 70 per cent of the beef it produces, to more than 100 countries around the world. The beef industry in Australia is worth $75 billion.
How much beef do we get from the US each year?
Australia imports no beef from the US. The change announced today will allow beef back in. But don’t hold your breath waiting for a surge of US imports. “I don’t believe there will be any major volumes flowing from the US to Australia”, said Rabobank senior analyst Angus Gidley-Baird. “US exports volumes this year in total are declining at the moment, because they have lower beef supplies available and higher beef prices, making them less competitive.”
In time, Gidley-Baird said: “There is opportunity for more select food service operators who might want to put it on the menu as a one-item... special.” An example would be a US-style steakhouse that wants to feature American beef.
Does this mean our stores and restaurants will start selling US beef?
Given the pricing, Gidley-Baird thinks it would be unlikely. US beef costs the same if not more than high-quality Australian beef. McDonald’s Australia uses 100 per cent Australian beef which it plans to continue to do. Costco, Hungry Jacks, Grill’d, Betty’s Burgers, Boss Burger were contacted for comment. Littleproud warns that US beef prices will fall one day, creating a path for US imports.
Is Australian beef better than US beef?
Australian beef tends to be less grain-fed than American beef. About 95 per cent of the US cattle “continue to be finished, or fattened, on grain for the last 160 to 180 days of life” involving feedlots, or an animal feeding operation a US researcher has said.
In Australia, the share of cattle in feedlots is closer to 35-40 per cent, with the steer spending more time in pastures, “which does lend itself to a leaner product and slightly different flavour,” said Gidley-Baird.
Does the Coalition support the changes?
Coalition partners the Nationals are seeking a scientific review of the decision behind the change. Cattle Australia, which represents grass-fed beef producers, also supports a review.
“There’s a lot of community concern around this,” CEO of Cattle Australia Will Evans said. “There is a lot of consumer concern and a lot of industry concern around this.”
Is US beef safe? Will there be transparency?
Evans said his group had not taken issue so much with the science that the government used, but the regime of detailed safety checks that the Australian industry will be able to hold the US to. Evans said if and when US cattle is exported to Australia, it’s on a producer-by-producer basis rather than for the entire industry. Currently, Japan and Australia’s respective beef industries have in place a series of standards, including detailed inspections of each other’s farms, to ensure mutual trust among the exporters.
Were these changes to appease the Trump administration?
Evans said that there appears to be “some kind of politicisation of this specific topic” but from the perspective of the Australian industry: “This is an issue that we’ve known about for quite some time that predates President Trump. This is something that obviously got elevated by his commentary this year, but it was an existing issue.”
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