Australia Eases Curbs on US beef After Rigorous” Review — Despite Trump’s Swipe

Australia is loosening its tough biosecurity grip on American beef, scrapping restrictions that US President Donald Trump recently blasted as unfair.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said Canberra will roll back the measures after a “rigorous science and risk-based assessment” concluded the US is managing disease risks appropriately.

“Australia stands for open and fair trade – our cattle industry has significantly benefitted from this,” Collins said in a statement.

Until now, Australia — home to some of the world’s strictest biosecurity rules — hadn’t allowed in beef from cattle raised in Canada and Mexico but slaughtered in the United States. Canberra had already lifted its separate ban on beef from cows both raised and slaughtered in the US back in 2019, a precaution introduced after the mad cow disease scare.

The shift follows Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” broadside, when he unveiled sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries and singled Australia out.

“Australia bans – and they’re wonderful people and wonderful everything – but they ban American beef,” he said. “They won’t take any of our beef,” Trump added. “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 starting at midnight tonight, I would say.”

Australia, which has been hit with Trump’s baseline 10 percent tariff since April, exported about 26,000 tonnes of beef and veal to the US in the first three weeks of July, according to government figures. The country exports roughly 70 percent of its beef and is a major supplier of red meat to the US, but consumes little American product itself.

Meat & Livestock Australia isn’t expecting a shake-up at home.

“The potential for US beef to be imported into Australia in large volumes is minimal, given the high demand for beef in the US, the low US cattle herd, the strength of the Australian dollar, our competitive domestic supply, and most importantly Australians’ strong preference for high-quality, tasty and nutritious Australian beef,” the producer-owned group said. “In fact, demand for Australian beef in the US continues to grow. In June 2025, exports to the US rose 24 percent year-on-year, despite a 10 percent tariff introduced in April.”

With input from Al Jazeera