‘Lopsided and unfair’: Australian farmers in Trump crosshairs

Washington: Billions of dollars of Australian beef exports are in the firing line for more Trump tariffs after powerful American farmers accused Australia of running “by far the most lopsided and unfair trading deal” with the US.

The attack comes as the White House made clear it would target other countries’ food testing and local content rules, among other non-tariff trade barriers, when it introduces “reciprocal tariffs” next month, with each trading partner assigned a score based on its import duties and perceived trade transgressions.

US farmers say Australia has exported $45 billion of beef to the United States over the past 20 years.Credit: Peter Braig

In comments to this masthead, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), representing 175,000 American cattle farmers and feeders, accused Australia of repeatedly frustrating negotiations to end a ban on uncooked US beef products.

“For 20 years, Australian beef has enjoyed the benefits of free trade with the US, and we have been stonewalled over and over again,” said Kent Bacus, the group’s trade chief and executive director for government affairs.

“You can’t ignore a $US29 billion [$45 billion] trade deficit in beef [over 20 years]. All we are asking for is fair trade – that really can’t be too much to ask. US beef is the highest quality in the world, and if Australia is unwilling to recognise that, then it is only fair for the US to reciprocate.”

The NCBA has also raised these points directly with officials in meetings. In a scathing submission to the US Trade Representative (USTR) – the office managing the reciprocal tariffs due to begin on April 2 – it said: “The US-Australia free trade agreement is by far the most lopsided and unfair trade deal for US cattle producers.”

US trade adviser Peter Navarro (left), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump.Credit: James Brickwood, AP

It said Australia used myriad sanitary concerns and “endless bureaucratic red tape” to continue to delay the approval of uncooked US beef, which has been banned since the early 2000s due to fears about mad cow disease in the US.

“This is not how allies and trade partners should behave,” the association said. “This is a slap in the face to US cattle producers, and enough is enough.”

Australia exported more than $4 billion of beef to the US last year, more than any other country. In particular, the NCBA said exports of grain-fed beef had increased 220 per cent, and the American Wagyu Association was concerned that “Australia’s unrestricted access to the US market, coupled with the weak Australian dollar, will continue to undermine US wagyu sales in this highly competitive niche market”.

Agri Beef, an Idaho-based meat wholesaler, said in its submission that Australia had never come close to reaching the “preposterous” export quotas set at the time, which would have triggered tariffs. It said the quotas were overly generous and should be revised and the unfair trade imbalance rectified.

In a hearing of the US Senate’s agriculture committee in late February, NCBA president Buck Wehrbein also complained about the free-trade agreement with Australia.

“We’ve bought beef from them for 20 years, and they haven’t spent one red cent with us,” he told Republican senator Jerry Moran. “So it’s not just having an agreement, but it’s also enforcing the agreements.”

In addition to a political action committee that overwhelmingly donates to Republicans, the NCBA’s chief executive, Colin Woodall, sits on the agricultural policy advisory committee for trade, which provides advice to the USTR.

In an interview with Fox Business this week, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent indicated the administration would target trading partners’ non-tariff barriers when it announced more tariffs on April 2.

While he did not name Australia, he singled out two grievances that pertain to Australia – food testing and domestic television content quotas that affect operators such as Netflix.

“There’s a big group of countries where we have a small surplus, but we don’t do a lot of trading with them. Then there’s what we could call ‘the dirty 15’, and they have substantial tariffs,” Bessent said.

“As important as the tariff is, [there are also] these non-tariff barriers where they have domestic content production, where they do testing on our food, our products, that bear no resemblance to safety or anything that we do to their products.”

US President Donald Trump has called April 2 “liberation day for America” and has specifically pledged that the tariffs will benefit American farmers.

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent.Credit: Bloomberg

Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said the peak body would oppose any weakening of Australia’s biosecurity requirements for red meat, which were “simply not negotiable”.

“Promoting free trade and market access is a fundamental issue for [us], and any suggestion from the NCBA to the contrary is something that we will vigorously oppose on behalf of Australia’s beef producers,” he said.

“How the NCBA represents the interests of its members is a matter for them. However, they should remember that the trading rules in place between our countries have resulted in an overwhelming positive balance of trade for the US and a trade deficit for Australia.”

Parker said he would meet cattle industry leaders in the US next month. Meat and Livestock Australia, which maintains a presence in Washington, was also due to meet with NCBA representatives next week.

Comment was sought from Trade Minister Don Farrell and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, as well as Bessent. Farrell and Greer spoke this week about the “America first” trade policy and Australia’s disappointment in not being granted an exemption on steel and aluminium tariffs.

“The US has a great trading relationship with Australia – we don’t impose a single tariff on the US, and they’ve enjoyed a healthy trade surplus in America’s favour for decades,” Farrell said after the call.

“The Albanese government will always stand up for Australia. We don’t take the easy road, we won’t sell out and we don’t back down.”

As this masthead revealed on Wednesday, American medical giants are also urging the US administration to use tariffs to punish Australia for its pharmaceutical benefits scheme, which subsidises medicines for millions of Australians.

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