Europe free trade deal reaches ‘endgame’

A free-trade agreement with Europe is on the horizon, but farmers are worried they’ll be sacrificed for geopolitical reasons or a photo opportunity.

Trade Minister Don Farrell. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Negotiations over a free-trade agreement with the European Union have reached the “endgame”, but farmers are warning against being sacrificed for geopolitical reasons or a photo opportunity.

Trade Minister Don Farrell, in Osaka, Japan this weekend to negotiate with EU counterparts on the sidelines of the G7 summit, told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday night any decision to sign a deal would be in the national interest and some industries might not be pleased with the outcome.

The pending European election cycle and geopolitical tension heightened by war in the Middle East have increased the pressure to reach an agreement.

The sentiment has worried Australian food producers who fear they may be sold short for the sake of the critical minerals sector and for political points. They are particularly concerned the deal would not provide decent access to European markets for Australian food products, particularly meat and sugar, and prevent dairy and wine producers from using names such as feta and prosecco.

It comes amid open hostility between farmers and the Albanese government after the National Farmers Federation launched a campaign against it, accusing it of not listening and putting ideology ahead of established agricultural industries.

Senator Farrell said plans to continue negotiations in Australia with European counterparts had failed but they had agreed to resume discussions in Japan. He said the EU was describing this point in talks as the “endgame” but he was prepared to reject the agreement, as he did in Brussels in July, if it did not constitute a “better offer across the board”.

“We are reaching the pointy end … if we don’t get an agreement this weekend … the Europeans then go into … internal election cycles for the next year and we lose the opportunity to finalise an agreement before the composition of the European parliament changes,” Senator Farrell said.

“My job … is to make a decision in respect of the national interest. I’ve got to look at this from the point of view of not what is best for a particular sector but what is best for the country.”

National Party leader David Littleproud said food producers should be at the centre of the minister’s decisions. “I think we’re going to be collateral damage in this,” he said. “I think this is all about Don Farrell wanting to be able to say he signed a free-trade agreement rather than actually looking at the quality of it.”