US EditionEU-Australia Trade Deal Draws Ire of Farmers and Lawmakers
The deal phases in quotas for beef, sheep meat, sugar, and rice over years and includes safeguards, but EU farmers' lobby calls protections insufficient.
- On Tuesday, the European Union and Australia struck a trade agreement after years of negotiations to expand commerce across multiple sectors.
- Copa-Cogeca, the EU's influential farmers' lobby, declared the deal "unacceptable" on Tuesday, arguing concessions to Canberra fail to protect European farmers against cumulative import surges.
- The agreement establishes sensitive product quotas including 30,600 tonnes of beef annually, while protecting 165 EU agri-food and 231 spirit Geographical Indications, with Australian producers retaining domestic "Prosecco" usage.
- Australia's red meat industry rejected the pact, with National Farmers Federation President Hamish McIntyre calling it a "generational agreement" that locks producers into "very low volumes."
- Ratification faces uncertainty as Belgian MEP Benoît Cassart criticized the European Commission's unilateral approach, echoing legal concerns previously raised regarding the pending Mercosur trade deal.
15 Articles
15 Articles
The sector is concerned about a new agreement between the European Union and Australia, favouring the import of 27,000 tonnes of Australian sheepmeat, compared to 3,800 today.
‘Not going to rubber stamp this deal’: Coalition unhappy with EU free trade deal
The federal government is defending the strength of its free trade deal with the European Union after the cattle lobby labelled it the worst deal ever. The opposition says it wants to trawl through the fine print and there's no assurance it will back the bill in parliament. Europe's farm lobby also raising concerns about whether the deal should be passed.
EU-Australia trade deal draws ire of farmers and lawmakers
The new EU-Australia trade deal has drawn criticism from farmers and MEPs, who argue that it will open the door to additional imports of sensitive products on top of those already agreed under the contentious Mercosur deal, while not providing full protection for certain EU regional products.
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