Australia-Meat and Livestock Tariff to be lifted.

AUSTRALIA-TARIFF’S ON MEAT AND LIVESTOCK.

Tariffs on most red meat export lines will be eliminated under the free trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the ASEAN countries which was signed last week.

The Cattle Council of Australia has welcomed the deal, arguing it is a "critical step forward" for the beef industry given its dependence on export markets for the sale of more than 65pc of its production. "This agreement demonstrates a commitment by the Federal Government to providing a platform to support growth in Australia’s international beef trade," Cattle Councile executive director David Inall said. In the agreement, tariffs on most red meat lines are eliminated or phased down to 0pc. Those tariffs already at 0pc prior to the FTA are now bound by the recent agreement and will remain in place. "This is an especially important achievement as countries are therefore unable to bump up tariffs, reassuring investment confidence in these markets," Mr Inall said. In 2008, Australia’s beef and livestock trade with the 10 ASEAN member countries was worth $722 million to the Australian beef industry. This market represents 4pc of Australia’s total beef exports and 69pc of total livestock exports. "The Australian beef industry will benefit from this FTA where potential new market opportunities are created, current business expanded and a formal foundation is laid for ongoing consultation between Australia and the ASEAN countries," Mr Inall said. "In addition to the liberalisation secured in ASEAN, the current focus for the Australian beef industry, through Cattle Council and industry stakeholders, is undertaking an ongoing advocacy program in order to extol the benefits of concluding FTAs with both Japan and Korea. "These two markets are important customers for Australian beef and even closer trade relations would be extremely beneficial in times of global economic uncertainty.