President Trump said he hopes farmers are happy after Australia announced it will open up imports of American beef.
He said Australia is a “very BIG market,” in a social media post Friday.
The president first made the announcement in a post Thursday evening, saying America’s neighbors down under have agreed to accept U.S. beef.
“For a long time, and even though we are great friends, they actually banned our Beef. Now, we are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that U.S. Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World,” Mr. Trump wrote.
“The other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE. All of our Nation’s Ranchers, who are of the hardest working and most wonderful people, are smiling today, which means I am smiling too,” he said. “Let’s keep the Hot Streak going.”
American beef was first banned in Australia in 2003 due to concerns over bovine spongiform, or mad cow disease.
Australian Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said easing the restrictions on American beef would not compromise biosecurity.
“Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this,” Ms. Collins said in a statement.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins congratulated Mr. Trump on making a “major trade breakthrough that gives greater access to U.S. beef producers selling to Australia.”
“American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world. 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,” she said.
The ban was technically lifted in 2019, but imports from the U.S. have still faced restrictions due to beef sourced from Canada or Mexico and the risk of disease.
But recent changes better identify and trace the cattle to their farms, which satisfied Australian officials because they “effectively manage biosecurity risks.”
“My department officials have been across in the U.S. They’ve gone along the entire supply chain, including in abattoirs and cutting houses in the U.S., to ensure the safety and security of any beef along the supply chain that may come into Australia, and my experts are assured and are confident that we have this assessment correct,” Ms. Collins told reporters.
Mr. Trump has criticized Australia previously for not importing American beef when he announced he would be imposing a 10% tariff on the country.
“Yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef,” Mr. Trump said in April. “They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don’t blame them, but we’re doing the same thing right now.”
— This article is based in part on wire service reports.
