Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said Trade Minister Don Farrell’s calls for farmers and businesses to spruik the European Union Free Trade Agreement on his behalf is not just insulting to farmers, but an arrogant doubling down on the worst deal ever.
Senator Canavan said the so-called ‘Free Trade’ Agreement between Australia and the European Union is a sellout to Australian farmers and Australian interests.
But instead of listening to the concerns on farmers, Minister Farrell was pressing ahead, and now lecturing farmers to spruik the deal.
“Farmers are too busy trying to make ends meet than to do the Minister’s work for him,” Senator Canavan said.
“One thing farmers should know is, the Liberals and Nationals have your back. The fundamental problem is that the deal is not reciprocal. Australia is effectively opening its market to European producers, including removing tariffs on all EU agricultural exports, while key Australian agricultural exports into Europe will remain restricted by quotas, tariffs and massive European farm subsidies. That is not genuine free trade.
“I have written to the Trade Minister asking for some reasonable changes to fix the flaws that the farm sector has identified.
“The Minister’s intransigence is in stark contrast to the bipartisan approach the Coalition took in Government. When Labor raised issues about the China Free Trade Agreement, and threatened to block its passage, we went back and renegotiated the deal to deliver bipartisan outcomes. Why won’t Labor do the same for Australia’s interests here?
“Three years ago, the Labor Government walked away from trade negotiations with the EU and promised that they would only sign a good deal, not any deal.
“Labor then broke that promise by signing a deal that has not materially changed from what was on the table a few years ago.
“As the National Farmers’ Federation has said, this deal provides no ‘commercially meaningful agricultural market access gains since Australia last walked away from negotiations’.
“What is worse is that the Labor Government is trying to pull the wool over farmers’ eyes and hide the dud nature of this deal. While the Government has trumpeted the access of up to 35,000 tonnes of beef over time, this is measured in carcase weight terms. Until 2019, Australian beef producers had access to a global EU quota of 67,000 tonnes in carcase weight tonnes terms. Australia would often fill the lion’s share of this quota.
“But in 2019, the EU did a ‘ring-fencing’ side deal with the first Trump administration that reduced Australia’s access to below 5,000 tonnes carcase weight.
“Now Labor wants applause for lifting this to 35,000 tonnes (over time) which is not far from what we had before the EU’s side deal with Trump. Labor must think that Australian farmers are stupid, but I can tell you that they are not. This EU deal is in stark contrast with the deal that the Liberal National Coalition Government negotiated with the United Kingdom Government.
“That agreement allowed unlimited exports of beef, lamb, cheese, sugar and wheat. In contrast, Labor has accepted tight quota limits that severely restrict Australian farmers’ ability to grow exports into Europe.
“Labor has signed a deal that removes a tariff on European cheese entering Australia but does nothing about the massive subsidies that European dairy farmers receive. On some measures, the average European dairy farmer gets about a third of their income from government support.
“Australian dairy producers should not be asked to compete like this when the playing field is so tilted against them.
“On geographical indicators, Labor is trying to argue that it is a ‘reprieve’ for Australian farmers that we can continue to call things, like Prosecco, the way we always have. Since when is the default position that Europeans can dictate what we do here in this country?
“Not since colonial times have we taken orders from overseas, or been expected to be thankful that a foreign sovereign has not imposed more restrictions on us.
“The Government has also sold-out Australia’s national interest by not making it clear that the EU has no right to impose decarbonisation or deforestation initiatives on Australians.
“The Liberal and National Coalition will closely scrutinise this deal through the normal Parliamentary processes. In doing so, we will be guided by the principle that Australian governments – of both sides of politics – have adhered to the principle that a Free Trade Agreement must live up to that name.”
