Australia set to reduce US beef import restrictions; Trump warns other countries refusing ‘magnificent’ meat — ‘on notice’

“Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this,” Australian Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said in a statement. The latest plan now will not compromise biosecurity, she added.

The timing of the new, reduced restrictions has not been finalised. Australian demand for US beef is expected to remain low for reasons including a relatively weak Australian dollar. Beef prices have also rising in the US due to factors that include drought and shrinking domestic herd numbers, as per news agency AP. 

Updated US cattle import controls

Over the last 20 years, the US administration has pushed for the benefits of the beef market access to Australia as part of the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This year marks the 20th anniversary of the bilateral free trade deal. The US has maintained a trade surplus with Australia for decades.

The Trump administration recently introduced additional movement controls that identify and trace all cattle from Mexico and Canada — the ones banned by Australia — to their farms of origin.

Australian authorities were “satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the US effectively manage biosecurity risks,” Collins said. This comes as producers in Australia fear that the export market would vanish overnight if diseases, including mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease, infected their cattle.

Opposition lawmaker David Littleproud suspected the government was endangering Australia’s cattle industry to appease Trump, as per news agency AP.

Trump on US beef to Australia

The US President, in a in a celebratory post on Truth Social, said that even the two countries are “great friends”, Australia had banned beef from the country.

“After many years Australia has agreed to accept American Beef!… Now, we are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that US Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World,” Trump wrote.

Acknowledging the US ranchers, he said: “All of our Nation’s Ranchers, who are some of the hardest working and most wonderful people, are smiling today, which means I am smiling too. Let’s keep the Hot Streak going. IT’S THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L Rollins responded to Australia’s announcement by congratulating Trump on a “major trade breakthrough that gives greater access to US beef producers selling to Australia.”

“This is yet another example of the kind of market access the President negotiates to bring America into a new golden age of prosperity, with American agriculture leading the way,” she said in a statement.

In the same post, Trump also issued a warning to “other countries that refuse our magnificent meat”.

Earlier during his game of chicken over tariffs, Trump had attacked Australian import restrictions on US beef. “Australia bans — and they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef,” Trump had told reporters when he announced in April that tariffs of at least 10 per cent would be placed on Australian imports, with steel and aluminum facing a 50 per cent tariff.

“Yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don’t blame them, but we’re doing the same thing right now,” he had added.

Trump-Australian PM Albanese to meet this year

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Trump were to hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Canada last month. But it did not take place as Trump left early amid the then escalating Iran-Israel conflict situation.

The Australian PM is said to be expecting a meet this year, however, there is no confirmation of a date being set.

Australia’s opposition to any US tariffs will be high on the agenda when Albanese secures his first meet with Trump since coming to power.