National Farmers’ Federation says EU trade deal must not be at the expense of farmers

Australian farmers are sounding the alarm as free trade agreement talks with the European Union reopen, warning the Government must secure a better deal than previous proposals. The EU’s top trade negotiator, Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic visited Melbourne last week to restart trade talks with Trade Minister Don Farrell after discussions collapsed in 2023. Mr Farrell is pushing for tariff-free agricultural access to the EU, and “meaningful market access for beef and sheepmeat”, but exactly what a “meaningful” arrangement would look like has not been revealed. A potentially lucrative deal with the EU has eluded both Labor and the Coalition, with Australia walking away from talks two years ago at the final hurdle. Australian sheep and beef exports have been the sticking points, with European farmers worried about unfair competition due to cheaper imports — despite EU production understood to have peaked or be declining. National Farmers’ Federation president Hamish McIntyre welcomed the discussions, but warned the nation’s $94 billion agricultural industry could not afford to be short-changed in the rush to sign a deal. “Farmers want this deal done, but not at any cost. We must get a good deal for Australian agriculture, not a quick deal that compromises it,” Mr McIntyre said. “The deal on the table last time simply wasn’t good enough — limited market access and too many strings attached. “This will shape our relationship with Europe for decades to come. That’s why it has to be fair, balanced, and deliver real, lasting gains for Australian agriculture.” Australia’s dairy industry has been particularly concerned about what the trade deal might look like, with Dairy Australia estimating accepting geographical indicator restrictions — preventing the use of words with EU heritage in Australian product branding — would cost the industry $75 million to $95m per year. Both Australia and the EU decided to revisit trade talks after US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which imposed tariffs on Australian products including beef — with that commodity this month revoked. But internal barriers to doing more trade when it comes to agricultural and meat options continue to be a hurdle for negotiators to overcome. France, which is especially powerful in Europe, and Ireland are particularly opposed do a deal with Australia because they fear it would allow Australian beef imports to increase, jeopardising their own producers. Minister Farrell told Parliament he had reiterated to Commissioner Sefcovic that Australia needed a better offer on agriculture and that the EU’s willingness to travel to Australia for discussions for the first time was a positive signal. A spokesman for Mr Farrell told Countryman the Federal Government remained “committed to concluding a free trade agreement with the EU that is in Australia’s national interest”. “We continue to seek the best deal possible, including eliminating the vast majority of EU agricultural tariffs and delivering meaningful market access for beef and sheepmeat,” he said. Senator Farrell last week hosted a meeting, assembling his counterparts from the 12 countries that are part of the giant trading bloc known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership or CPTPP. The EU has expressed interest in co-operating with the grouping of Pacific Rim countries that include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Senator Farrell and Commissioner Sefcovic spoke on the sidelines of the CPTPP trade ministers’ meeting. The EU is a market of about 446 million people with a nominal GDP of $US18.6 trillion ($28.7 trillion) in 2023, equivalent to the second largest economy in the world.