The US president revealed on Saturday morning Australian time he would lift reciprocal tariffs on some agricultural goods, including a plethora of beef goods.
Though Australian products already had the lowest tariff rate of any US trading partner, removing that baseline 10 per cent levy on beef will be a significant boon for farmers.
“As an incredibly important market for Australian beef, we greatly value our relationship with the American industry and consumers," Cattle Australia chief executive Will Evans said.
“The decision to remove tariffs will further strengthen that relationship."
The National Farmers’ Federation welcomed the decision.
“While the sector’s exports have shown resilience over the course of the past months, [the] announcement is a sensible step that brings us back into line with the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, which provides for zero tariffs on two-way trade,” NFF interim chief executive Su McCluskey said.
“The US and Australia have a deep and multifaceted agricultural relationship spanning goods and services trade, deep investment, two-way flows and people-to-people links.
“Farmers’ and Australia’s interests are best served by a free, fair and predictable global trading environment.”
Meat is Australia's second-largest export to the US behind non-monetary gold, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In 2024, the US accounted for 30 per cent of Australia's beef exports, the United States Studies Centre found.
Some 394,000 tonnes of beef worth $4.16 billion was sent to the states, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
Even when the tariffs were in place, trade continued to flow.
Australia has exported more than 370,000 tonnes of beef since the beginning of the year, up 17 per cent compared to the first 10 months of 2024, Meat and Livestock Australia found.
“MLA welcomes the news out of the US that tariffs on Australian beef have been removed,” MLA managing director Michael Crowley said.
“The US is a valuable and long-term trading partner. MLA has an on-the-ground presence in the US, and we look forward to the ongoing partnership in trade.”
In July, the Federal Government wound back biosecurity restrictions on US beef imports as tariff concerns reached their zenith.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins at the time insisted the decision had followed a decade-long science-based review.
But the US had previously complained to Australia about non-tariff trade barriers, including longstanding restrictions on beef following a prior outbreak of mad cow disease, and their removal was hailed by Mr Trump as a victory.
“American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world,” US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said.
“It’s absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years.
“Gone are the days of putting American farmers on the sidelines.
“This is yet another example of the kind of market access the president negotiates to bring the US into a new golden age of prosperity, with American agriculture leading the way.”
The president's latest tariff retreat also lifts levies on coffee, tropical goods and a swathe of other goods as his administration faces mounting pressure to lower the cost of living.
– with Kat Wong and AAP
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