News Analysis
The 10% “liberation day” tariff on Australia’s exports is not a beef trade, but rather a deeper ideological clash that is the bone of a dispute between the Trump administration and the government around the world.
In an era of globalization and free trade, US authorities accused countries like Australia of quietly unfolding different types of trade barriers.
It’s an ironic twist, considering that the Trump administration is often engaging in protectionism and is initially criticized by the media for disrupting free trade.
Overview of US Australian Beef
On April 2, US President Donald Trump revealed that all US trading partners will be subject to a baseline of 10% tariffs on goods entering the US, but they were slapped in far more tariffs, particularly Cambodia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
As for Australia, which escaped the release date with a baseline 10% tariff, its beef sector is the biggest impact. Aluminum and steel exports are already under a higher tariff regime.
President Donald Trump maintains a copy of the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report as he speaks at the “American Wealthy Again” trade announcement event at the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025. ChipSomodevilla/Getty Images
Last year, Australia exported about 400,000 tonnes of beef to a value of $2.9 billion. This is the largest exporter in the United States. The US imports about 15% of the beef, with the rest being produced locally.
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Australia also controls the US Wagyu beef market, accounting for 48% of agricultural products. This is more than local American producers, accounting for 41%.
A major concern from the National Beef Beef Association (NCBA), a US peak industrial organization, is that while Australia has relatively easy access to the US beef market, U.S. producers are struggling to navigate Australia’s biosecurity regulations by calling Australia’s biosecurity regulations “ropside and space.”
In 2003, raw American beef products were banned from Australia. It is known as “mad cow disease” when it is discovered that one Canadian cow has bovine sporotype encephalopathy (BSE).
The ban was finally lifted in 2019, but US producers are still unable to sell their products to Australian customers.
Since 2003, Australia has sent around US$29 billion worth of beef to the country, while US producers have sent US$31 million in reverse.
The butcher will hold a tray of Australian ramp steaks at his shop in Melbourne, Australia on May 12, 2020. William West/AFP by Getty Images
What are the key points of clinging to our producers?
According to the Federal Agriculture Bureau, successive Australian governments have maintained “a “conservative approach to managing biosecurity risks rather than zero risk.”
Companies that want to import fresh beef to Australia must undergo a BSE rating implemented by Australia Newzealand (FSANZ) food standards.
In 2015, Food Standards Australia published a US risk assessment that provides “Category 1” status.
California ranchers will walk through herds of beef beef on February 3, 2014 at a five-generation family-run farm located outside of Delano, California. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Category 1 rating means that the country can be applied to export meat to Australia, while Category 2 status means that the country’s products can be exported along with FSANZ risk management controls.
Australian authorities determined that a new assessment was needed and a draft report was released, but there were no signs of a final version yet.
Lobby Group says Australia’s biosecurity measures require an audit
The NCBA wrote a very important submission on these processes to Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer on March 11th.
“For 20 years, Australia has been using countless hygiene concerns and endless bureaucratic bureaucratic red tape to delay US beef approval despite international recognition that the United States has the highest food safety and animal health standards in the world,” the submission states.
“For the past few years, we’ve been told by the Australian government is in the final stages of approval, but we’re continuing to see delays.”
The US is also implementing bills for biosecurity procedures regarding the import of Australian meat, the NCBA said.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick targeted Australian authorities after the release date tariffs were announced.
“Our farmers are sold almost everywhere… Europe doesn’t let us sell beef, Australia doesn’t let us sell beef,” Rutnick told CNN.
Howard Lutnick, then-Commerce Secretary of President Donald Trump, testified at a confirmation hearing at Capitol Hill, Washington on January 29, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
“They say: ‘Oh, are they different species?’ Other people in the world use (of them) species… Come on, this is nonsense… they’re going to block our market. ”
The NCBA also calls for the USDA to audit health standards Australia uses for biosecurity.
“This also needs to take into account the rejected shipping rates at US customs over the past five years. If necessary, we need to increase the inspection rate by 100% until further audits are made to ensure that the whole body issue has been resolved,” their submission said.
Australian producers support the process
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) claims that Australian beef has always been free from BSE and should do so.
The MLA believes that the country’s biosecurity measures have achieved this.
BSE develops from feeding beef meat and bone meals. The disease has a long incubation period and may not be detected for years.
Feeding of animal products to Australian cows is prohibited.
Cows from Lismore, New South Wales, Australian cows on March 1, 2022. Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images
Senator Matt Canavan said he is fortunate that Australia has a strong biosecurity presence.
“The cost of sickness for crazy cows coming to this country would be tens of millions of dollars. I think it was measured at about $40 billion,” he told the Epoch Times.
“The impact on Australia will be huge. We have a massive ulls. It’s scary for our country that cows are being restricted, so we want to keep them out.”
Canavan said the problem for US ranchers is that they can’t guarantee Australian authorities that beef exports are undoubtedly Americans.
He said Australia’s rules are reasonable and all the US needs to do is provide a supply chain guarantee of the origins of cattle.
As an island nation, Australia has a history of taking a near-zero tolerance approach to biosecurity.
Last year, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza H7N3 was detected in five poultry farms in Victoria.
A new form of tariff?
Jill Shepherd, a political lecturer at Australian National University, said he knows that “anyone who sees politics” is a proxy, protectionist tariff.
“We use the biosecurity regime as a form of trade policy, rather than imposing fiscal tariffs,” she told AAP.
“Everyone involved in the primary industry knows that. Anyone who sees politics knows that.”
And this practice is what the Trump administration is dealing with worldwide in all its different symptoms.
A White House fact sheet following Trump’s release date announcement pointed to a number of “non-tariff barriers.”
“Country including China, Germany, Japan and South Korea are pursuing policies that curb the domestic consumption power of citizens in order to artificially increase the competitiveness of their export products.
“Such policies include degenerative tax systems, low or non-forced penalties for environmental degradation, and policies aimed at restraining workers’ wages compared to productivity.” Unions are virtually non-existent or ineffective in many Asian countries.
And it was not just Australia targeting biosecurity measures, but the UK and Argentina both mentioned actions banning the import of US meat.
Argentina’s concerns about BSE were labelled “unfounded” and the UK was accused of maintaining “non-science-based standards.”
Who is ready to trade?
Announcement of release date effectively throws the ball into government group courts around the world. That means leaders need to respond to the Trump administration with the best offers.
Otherwise, you can either pay customs duties or try to establish a new trade relationship. This is a long process.
Meanwhile, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Israel have already publicly announced that they will cut their trade barriers.
On April 6, Kevin Hassett, head of the White House National Economic Council, said about 50 countries have already reached out to negotiate.
Australian leaders have vowed to continue negotiations as they explore new markets.
The Epoch Times reached out to Australia’s Federal Agriculture Bureau, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, and Opposition Agriculture spokesman David Littleproud for comment.
