Australia gets access for 30,600t of beef to EU under new trade deal

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a trade deal on Tuesday in Canberra, bringing almost a decade of negotiations to an end.

The sticking point for the deal had been the size of the beef quota Australia would have for the EU market. The agreement puts that quota at 30,600t of beef.

Some 16,830t of that will enter the market duty free, subject to a “grass-fed” conditionality, with the balance of 13,770t subject to a reduced tariff of 7.5%.

One third of those volumes will be granted when the deal comes into force, with the full quota available after 10 years.

Sheepmeat

The quota for sheep and goatmeat will be 25,000t per year into the EU on full implementation. This quota will be for “grass-fed” sheep and goatmeat.

There will be tariff-rate quotas allowance for 5,000t of butter, which the EU said is equivalent to 0.25% of EU butter consumption.

The deal will eliminate tariffs on EU agricultural exports to Australia such as cheese, meat preparations, wine, chocolate and some fruits and vegetables. Overall, the deal will remove over 99% of tariffs on EU goods exports to Australia, cutting around €1bn a year in duties for companies.

Similar to the Mercosur trade deal, a safeguard mechanism is included in the deal in the event that there are market disturbances of EU beef prices and other sensitive products.

See this week’s Irish Farmers Journal for more details and reaction to the trade deal.