The EU and Australia finalised a free trade deal this week after eight years of negotiations. It has been described as a win-win by both the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Agriculture features heavily in the deal, with the amount of Australian beef allowed into the EU set to increase tenfold, rising from just over 3,000 tonne at present to over 30,000 in 2036.
Australian farmers had been looking for 50,000 tonne access, and the deal has received strong criticism from the Australian farming lobby.
Equally, the deal has also received severe criticism from the farming lobby across Europe including in Ireland.
Similar to the Mercosur trade deal, European car manufacturers have welcomed the deal.
The Mercosur trade deal is also due to be ratified on 1 May 2026 via provisional application.
This deal still has to make its way through a vote in the European Parliament. The Australian free trade deal, coupled with the Mercosur trade deal will now allow 130,000 tonnes of beef into the EU market and will no doubt affect the European beef market.
We are already feeling the effects that Brexit and the Australian and New Zealand free trade deal with the UK is having in displacing Irish product in the UK market.
AHDB data shows that Irish beef accounted for 77% of the UK’s beef import demand in 2024.
Just 12 months later, our share of the UK market had dropped to 67%, and in December 2025 this dipped to 60%. It is no coincidence that both New Zealand and Australian beef imports increased during that time.
The threat is also there of the UK doing a free trade deal with a country like Brazil which could further erode our market share in the UK.
The EU and Australia finalised a free trade deal this week after eight years of negotiations. It has been described as a win-win by both the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Agriculture features heavily in the deal, with the amount of Australian beef allowed into the EU set to increase tenfold, rising from just over 3,000 tonne at present to over 30,000 in 2036.
Australian farmers had been looking for 50,000 tonne access, and the deal has received strong criticism from the Australian farming lobby.
Equally, the deal has also received severe criticism from the farming lobby across Europe including in Ireland.
Similar to the Mercosur trade deal, European car manufacturers have welcomed the deal.
The Mercosur trade deal is also due to be ratified on 1 May 2026 via provisional application.
This deal still has to make its way through a vote in the European Parliament. The Australian free trade deal, coupled with the Mercosur trade deal will now allow 130,000 tonnes of beef into the EU market and will no doubt affect the European beef market.
We are already feeling the effects that Brexit and the Australian and New Zealand free trade deal with the UK is having in displacing Irish product in the UK market.
AHDB data shows that Irish beef accounted for 77% of the UK’s beef import demand in 2024.
Just 12 months later, our share of the UK market had dropped to 67%, and in December 2025 this dipped to 60%. It is no coincidence that both New Zealand and Australian beef imports increased during that time.
The threat is also there of the UK doing a free trade deal with a country like Brazil which could further erode our market share in the UK.
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