Australia’s cattle industry says the lifting of trade restrictions on US beef imports is unlikely to change much for domestic consumers.
The federal government has lifted biosecurity restrictions on beef imports from the United States, after a review determined it was safe.
Cattle Australia represents more than 52,000 grass-fed beef producers around the country.
Its chief executive Will Evans said America’s domestic market relied on Australian beef, which is currently 50 cents cheaper than what the US can produce.
“The likelihood of them turning around and looking to Australia as a really high value market [to export to] is very low,” he said.
“If I was an exporter of US beef, I would be looking at Japan, Korea and China as being really viable and valuable markets. I don’t really think Australia rates highly on that list.”
Livestock analyst with Global Agri Trends Simon Quilty agreed and said it was unlikely consumers would see US beef in the Australian market.
“Honestly, if there is a pound of US beef shipped to Australia in the next three years, I will be gobsmacked,”
he said.
While the blanket ban on US beef was lifted in 2019, restrictions remained in place on Canadian and Mexican cattle slaughtered in America. (ABC News: Brooke Chandler)
Tariff talks
The Trump administration applied a 10 per cent tariff to all Australian products, including beef, in April, citing restrictions on US beef as a major grievance.
Mr Quilty said the announcement was good news, as it reduced the risk of the tariff being increased.
“There were very strong rumours in the market over the last three days [about] two separate [beef] tariffs, one on frozen, one on chilled,”
he said.
“And the chilled tariffs could [have been] as high as 40 per cent or more, and that the frozen tariff was to be somewhere in the vicinity [of] 20 to 30 per cent.
“I think that those threats or concerns were genuine and I think that this decision by the government has enabled those threats to go away.”
The federal government had been reviewing the trade restrictions. (Unsplash: Jez Timms)
Angus cattle breeder Rodger Pryce hoped the move would stabilise trade with the US market, which he said was currently limited on exports due to record low herd numbers.
“The chances of us actually importing processed beef products from America, I don’t think it’s really a reality,”
he said.
“So by lifting those bans, correspondingly hopefully we will get a more sympathetic ear from America in relation to our beef imports.
“I don’t see the biosecurity risk as being real but I see the export opportunities for beef for ourselves into America as being very real.”
Rodger Pryce believes it is unlikely Australia will import beef from America. (Supplied: Rodger Pryce)
In 2024, the US imported 394,716 tonnes of Australian beef.
By comparison, Australia’s total beef imports from all sources were less than 1 per cent of that.
NSW Hunter-based beef producer Robert MacKenzie said he still had some concerns about the biosecurity risk, especially on beef that originated in Canada or Mexico.
“Even if one piece comes over here and freakishly enough it’s contaminated, that could just completely wipe out our herd,”
he said.
He said Australia’s biosecurity should not be compromised in order to further trade negotiations with the US.
“Our appetite for US beef is not there,” he said.
“Why would we take that risk [bringing] it into Australia when clearly we don’t want it, just to appease Donald Trump?”
Robert MacKenzie has concerns about the risk to Australia’s biosecurity. (ABC Rural: Amelia Bernasconi)
Biosecurity risks low
Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the changes would not compromise Australia’s biosecurity.
She said the US had introduced a higher level of traceability this year, allowing cattle to be traced from their farms through their supply chains.
This allowed more certainty that products were not carrying disease or pests dangerous to Australia.
Julie Collins says the change will not compromise Australia’s biosecurity. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)
Mr Quilty said the risk to Australia of getting an unwanted disease from US beef trade had been lowered.
“They have improved their traceability methods within America, and I think in all honesty that the degree of risk really is significantly low,”
he said.
Mr Evans said the cattle industry would work with the federal government to manage the risk.
“We are an enormous global player and on the global scene we are an advocate for rules-based trading systems that are supported by science,” he said.
“It’s very hard to welcome competitors’ product into your market, but the reality is that science has been used to make a technical assessment and that’s where we are today.”
