Australia and the European Union have not renewed their free trade agreement

However, negotiations will continue and Minister Farrell remains hopeful that one day they will sign an agreement that will benefit both Australia and their European counterparts.

From a red meat perspective, despite the failure to reach a deal in October, the industry remains supportive of the A-EU trade agreement negotiations and, in particular, the stated aim of providing significantly increased access to the European red meat market for Australian beef and lamb.

Australia’s case for seeking and securing significant trade reform is compelling, said Taskforce Chair Andrew MacDonald. “The EU is one of the world’s largest consumers of meat and there is a continuing need to import to meet that demand,” said Andrew. “Australia’s trade relationship with the EU is based on shared values ​​and is heavily focused on meeting EU customer demand for high-quality red meat products. However, our ability to serve the market is severely constrained by the EU’s persistence of outdated, unfair and restrictive quotas and high tariffs. This access has remained largely unchanged for nearly 50 years.”

“Our industry is a strong supporter of trade reform and we will continue to work very closely with the Australian negotiating team and their EU counterparts to ensure our position is well known, given the unique opportunity for our industry to improve our market access.”