The Australian National Farmers Federation (NFF) welcomes the new trade agreement with Great Britain, calling it a “new beginning.” However, the British dairy and livestock sectors fear income losses due to Australian competition and are asking London for additional support.
Many Australian dairy and meat products will be available in British stores starting next year.
This is the first trade deal the United Kingdom has reached since leaving the European Union. The agreement guarantees immediate tariff-free, quota-free access to the British market for all Australian products, following a gradual introduction period for several dairy and food products.
Many British industries are suffering from leaving the European Union. Instead of the smooth trade flows as before, new trade barriers have been introduced. However, due to the trade agreement with the EU, import duties usually do not have to be paid.
British farmers had criticized beforehand that their Australian counterparts are subject to less strict environmental and animal welfare standards. The British government says British farmers will be temporarily protected by limits on tariff-free imports, using tariff quotas and other safeguards.
Import tariffs on beef will be fully abolished after 10 years, but Australia will immediately receive an annual duty-free quota of 35,000 tons, increasing in equal steps to 110,000 tons over 10 years. Sheep meat tariffs will be abolished after 10 years. During the transition period, Australia will receive a duty-free quota of 25,000 tons, rising in equal parts to 75,000 tons over 10 years.
There is no mention yet of pork tariffs or quotas, likely due to the relatively small amounts of pork exported from Australia.
Australian farmers will also have limited immediate access to British dairy markets. Milk tariffs will be abolished over five years.
During this transition period, Australia will gain access to a duty-free cheese quota of 24,000 tons, increasing in equal parts to 48,000 tons by the fifth year. Australian dairy farmers will also immediately have access to a duty-free quota of 20,000 tons for non-cheese dairy products.