AFTER some lengthy delays, Free Trade Agreement talks between Australia and the European Union are back on the front burner, motivated in part by recent Trump US tariff developments.

Some see closer ties with the EU as being part of the solution to global trade uncertainty fuelled by Trump’s tariff impositions.

Federal Trade minister Don Farrell has already confirmed that negotiations on an FTA with Europe will resume following the upcoming federal election.

An FTA between Australia and the EU is a perfect opportunity for the EU to walk-the-walk with respect to any future leadership role it may play with global trade, by bringing forward a more liberalised deal than the version discussed in 2023, Australian trade sources suggest.

Speakers were asked about rekindled FTA discussions with the EU, and the potential for US tariff relief should Australia green-light US beef access to Australia, during last week’s Meat Processing and Export Conference on the Gold Coast.

Taking part in a panel session were the Australian Meat Industry Council’s general manager of trade, Sam Munsie and Andrew McCallum, MLA’s global manager for trade and market access.

Mr Munsie said while free trade agreements were important, trade was also about the global rules around the SBS system, and biosecurity-based risk assessments to judge what’s safe to trade.

“Federal Ag Minister Julie Collins only this morning re-emphasised that biosecurity is not negotiable for Australia in trade deals. But within that, there’s established processes that need to be worked through.

“It’s perhaps surprising how much Australian beef access for the US was in the spotlight last week (Trump’s tariff speech references), but that said, we’ve been working to correct the record since then that it is not a ‘ban,’ – that’s a mis-truth. There is a process in place, and that process is being worked through,” Mr Munsie said.

“AMIC has made submissions as part of that risk assessment, and if the biosecurity and food safety conditions can be met, we would want to treat others the same way we have been treated,” he said.

“In terms of discussions with the EU about a trade deal, it raised some eyebrows a couple of weeks ago when the EU Ambassador made some comments around wanting to get back around the negotiating table.”

“Our advice has been that we (Australia) want that agreement – there’s real benefit in it, but it needs to be substantive, real access that does not come with strings attached,” Mr Munsie said.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell was expecting to have dialogue with his EU equivalent on the topic soon.

“If some of these messages are indicating a shift, that means the EU is not simply going to come back to us with what they offered last time (2023), then great – let’s have the discussion,” Mr Munsie said.

US access would amount to $5m annual trade

MLA’s trade expert Andrew McCallum said the US Meat Exporters Federation was one of the organisations that put in a submission to Trump’s US Trade Representative, quantifying the estimated value of the US’s annual beef access to Australia. The figure was $5 million – while access to other markets was measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“They don’t see Australia as a big opportunity, whatsoever,” Mr McCallum said.

“Nevertheless, trade is two-way, and we always understand that. Other countries are knocking on our doors for access, and provided they meet all our protocols and biosecurity requirements, then trade should be able to flow,” he said.

Regarding EU trade discussions with Australia, Mr McCallum noted media reports in the past few days reporting how upset the EU was about Trump’s proposed 20pc tariffs on EU goods entering the US.

“But Australian beef has been paying a 20pc tariff into the EU for the past 50 years, so the EU is going to have to move a long way to show they are actually serious about doing a good trade deal with Australia.

“We will work with industry and the Australian government to achieve it, but whatever agreement we secure will likely be our trade agreement for the next 50 years, so we have to get it right, or as right as possible,” Mr McCallum said.

“Often with trade agreements, once they’re in place, it takes time to amend them, so getting them right the first time is important.

“But rather than doing it in the heat of political disruption, its important to get any trade deal right.”

NFF backs renewed deal

In October 2023, the National Farmers Federation publicly supported the leadership shown by the Federal Government to walk away from negotiations with the EU over the FTA, due to the limited market access opportunities for Australian agriculture offered by EU negotiators.

“More recently, the NFF has strongly welcomed the Government’s considered approach to recent trade disruptions, informed by the principle that liberalised and open trade is the salient driver of global economic growth and stability, and that economic protectionism, in all its various forms, runs counter to this,” the NFF said in a statement last week.

“We encourage whoever forms the next Government in three weeks time to take this same approach in any future negotiations with the EU.”

Recent trade disruptions should not lower the bar of expectations for any deal with the EU, but conversely, highlights the need for a strong agreement that delivers fair access two-way for each country, it said.