Anthony Albanese defends Trade Minister Don Farrell’s tariffs gaffe

The Coalition has ramped up its attacks on Don Farrell after he wrongly claimed that Donald Trump had raised the ban on US beef imports with Anthony Albanese.

Rhiannon Down

Trade Minister Don Farrell. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

3 min read

6:35PMJuly 28, 2025

The Coalition has ramped up its attacks on Trade Minister Don Farrell after he wrongly claimed that US President Donald Trump had raised the ban on US beef imports with Anthony Albanese, amid mounting calls for an inquiry into the decision to lift biosecurity restrictions.

During parliamentary question time, Sussan Ley questioned how Labor could be trusted to lead negotiations for an exemption from US tariffs, accusing Senator Farrell of “hallucinating” when he referred to the conversation between the Prime Minister and Mr Trump.

Mr Albanese defended Labor’s response to US tariffs, attacking former Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s election claim that a Coalition government could secure an exemption.

He also referred to Mr Trump’s remarks following Labor’s May 3 election win that the two leaders had a “very good relationship”, and he had “no idea” who had run against Mr Albanese.

“The truth is that no country in the world has a lower tariff than Australia has right now of 10 per cent,” he said on Monday. “And the arrangements that have been put in place are all, at least that, but in most cases have, of course been higher, 15 per cent, 25 per cent, some substantially higher.

“What we will do is to continue to engage in Australia’s national interests, to advocate, to get the best outcome possible with the US.”

Senator Farrell claimed on Sunday that Mr Trump had raised restrictions on US beef imports with Mr Albanese, but could not answer questions on when this discussion had taken place.

“I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head which of the discussions, but I’m aware that this issue was raised by the president of the US, but that will not change the way in which we conduct and examine our biosecurity issues,” he told Sky News.

Anthony Albanese in question time on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senator Farrell later admitted to making a mistake when he said Mr Trump had raised the issue, conceding that he confused the US President’s comments made in the White House rose garden about Australia with a conversation between the two leaders.

After Mr Albanese clarified there had not been a private conversation in which Mr Trump raised the issue, opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash criticised Senator Farrell and called for an inquiry into the lifting of restrictions.

Since Agricultural Department officials decided last week that the remaining restrictions on importing US beef derived from cattle raised in Canada and Mexico could be lifted, Labor has repeatedly denied that biosecurity laws had been compromised to appease the Trump administration.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has called for Senate inquiry to investigate the decision to lift the restrictions, raising concerns about the timing of the decision and the biosecurity risk it posed to the nation’s domestic beef industry.

“The Coalition, and Australia, needs assurance that Labor isn’t sacrificing our high biosecurity standards,” Mr Littleproud said.

“The timing of this decision, just as the Prime Minister seeks to obtain a meeting with the US President, is concerning.

“Our biosecurity cannot be a bargaining tool. The protocol outlining the import conditions, only released today, provide little detail on the science and the traceability requirements.”

Opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan raised concerns that a “overarching deal” had been struck with the US as part of tariff negotiations, rather than prioritising Australia’s biosecurity laws.

“Biosecurity in Australia has always been science based,” he told 2Gb radio.

“We go through protocols based on science, and we only ever change the rules based on science.

“We never trade biosecurity away as part of an overarching trade deal and never should.”