Australia’s red meat exports to Europe could increase ten-fold under a free trade agreement expected to be signed imminently, while local winemakers will get to keep the ‘prosecco’ label and some luxury cars will become cheaper.
But local producers will need to phase out their use of the ‘prosecco’ name for foreign exports over the next 10 years as a concession to European negotiators who want to protect their powerful wine industry.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, with the pair planning to sign a long-awaited free trade deal aimed at countering global chaos caused by US tariffs.
Australian farmers have been pushing to sell more red meat into Europe. Under a proposal to be discussed by the two leaders, they would be allowed to send between 30,000 and 35,000 tonnes of beef, around a 1,000 per cent increase on the current quota, sources close to the negotiations told AAP.
Further discussions are focusing on ways to expand market access for all Australian agriculture products.
The Australian side has also agreed to scrap a five per cent tariff on imported cars from Europe but won’t abolish the luxury car tax as had previously been speculated, one source said.
The deal has fallen over repeatedly in the last eight years, partly because of long-running disputes over Australian producers’ rights to use product names like prosecco, feta cheese and parmesan.
Disagreements over all three products are now believed to be resolved, although the exact details of the agreement on feta and parmesan are not yet known.
Local producers will need to phase out their use of the ‘prosecco’ name for foreign exports over the next 10 years as a concession to European negotiators who want to protect their powerful wine industry
Farming groups have been pushing for a minimum quota of at least 50,000 tonnes a year for red meat exports.
‘With everything going on globally, there couldn’t be worse timing to lock in an agreement that sells Australian agriculture short,’ National Farmers Federation president Hamish McIntyre told AAP.
‘The NFF is concerned the EU will offer sub-par access for Australian producers while also deploying more billion-dollar subsidies to their producers – a double blow for Australian farmers.’
No deal would be ‘better than a bad deal’, the federation has declared.
Former Australian trade official Prudence Gordon said the current quotas were prohibitive and not commercially meaningful for farmers.
‘It’s not really worthwhile for most exporters of beef and lamb meat and other products like rice and sugar and dairy products to enter that market because the quotas are so tiny, but also the tariffs are really high,’ Dr Gordon told AAP.
Ms von der Leyen will become the first female foreign leader to address federal parliament on Tuesday.
