Biosecurity rules: Australia could relax import requirements on US beef

Australia’s billion-dollar cattle industry is concerned they could be the pawn in trade talks with the US, amid reports import rules could be relaxed.

Australian beef producers are warning against the industry being used as a bargaining chip in tariff negotiations with the US.

Reports suggesting the US is pressuring Australia to relax biosecurity protocols to allow greater access for US beef have been met with caution by the local industry.

There has been no official comment from the US government or President Donald Trump on the matter.

Despite reports that relaxed biosecurity measures could open the door to increased trade, the US already has access to the Australian beef market — alongside countries such as New Zealand and Japan.

Cattle Australia chief executive Dr Chris Parker said US beef producers confirmed US beef producers were already able to export to Australia.

“Under current arrangements, United States beef producers have had access to Australian markets since 2019, provided they can meet our biosecurity standards which require whole-of-life traceability of animals, from birth to slaughter,” Dr Parker said.

“These are the same standards that Australian beef exporters adhere to in order to sell beef into the US.

“Our position is that the US needs to be able to demonstrate it can either trace cattle born in Mexico and Canada or has systems that are equivalent to Australia’s traceability before imports could occur for non-US cattle.”

Dr Parker said his organisation was working with the federal government, stressing the “science-based biosecurity system is not compromised as part of trade discussions with any country”.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said he was worried the government would

“trade away Australia’s biosecurity advantage to appease the Trump administration.”

“Australia’s strong biosecurity must remain a priority, instead of being used as a bargaining tool by Labor,” Mr Littleproud said.

“Australia should not be trading its beef industry away in trade talks with the US.

“The United States uses cattle from Mexico and Canada in their supply chain that poses a potential risk to our industry and ignoring those risks would be dangerous.”

Holbrook NSW beef producer Marc Greening said if Australia wanted to push free trade globally, it was a “two-way street”.

“As long as biosecurity protocols are met, then those imports should be allowed, but it has to be approved by facts-based scientific advice, not government rhetoric,” Mr Greening said.

“If there is any risk, any risk at all, to the beef industry in Australia, then it’s not acceptable.

“I urge the government to not bend biosecurity and make sure decisions are science based.”

Mr Greening said the volumes of US beef entering Australia would not pose an issue, given the US is currently experiencing historically low herd and production levels.

He noted Australia has never been a big customer for US beef, importing “very little” over the years.

The highest volume of beef exported from the US to Australia in the past 30 years was just 263 tonnes in a single year.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, annual US beef exports to Australia have occasionally been as low as 13 tonnes. Between 1995 and 2005, the US exported an average of just 66 tonnes per year, totalling 754 tonnes over that decade.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said the department regulated imported products under the Biosecurity Act 2015 to protect Australia’s unique environment from unwanted pests and diseases .

“The importation of some products is, by law, subject to certain biosecurity import conditions,” the spokeswoman said.

“Some products are not permitted entry while other products are only allowed into Australia subject to meeting import conditions that mitigate the biosecurity risk.”