Australia to allow US beef imports following trade dispute with Trump

Australia will lift restrictions on the import of beef from the US, a trade barrier which had angered the Trump administration. American beef has effectively been banned from the country since 2003 after an outbreak of mad cow disease. The White House had cited the restrictions when explaining tariffs imposed on Australia in April. The Australian government has denied the timing of the decision was related to the trade tiff, saying a decade-long department review found the US had improved beef safety measures.

Canberra technically lifted the ban on US beef in 2019, but cattle from Mexico and Canada remained on the blacklist, essentially barring beef from the States too. However, the US has recently introduced better cattle tracing protocols, allowing authorities to track where they were raised and respond more effectively in the event of a disease outbreak. In a statement, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stressed the safety of her country's beef products. Australia's Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the department had undertaken a rigorous assessment and was now satisfied that the US is managing any biosecurity threats. But the opposition has suggested the government may have compromised on biosecurity.

According to the source: BBC.