As negotiations for a free trade agreement come to a halt, Australia is getting closer to terminating its involvement with Europe.
This week, the European Union’s top negotiators were present for negotiations in Brussels with the trade minister, Don Farrell.
However, disagreements over how Australian agricultural products can access the market have halted negotiations.
The government just wants “reasonable” access to the sizable market for producers, according to Agriculture Minister Murray Watt, who claimed the proposal on the table “falls well short” of an acceptable offer.
“It’s fair to say we’re pretty disappointed with the offer that’s on the table from the EU at this point in time,” Mr. Watt told Sky News Australia’s Kieran Gilbert.
The present offer from the EU “falls far short of what we think is acceptable and, I think importantly, it also falls far short of what the EU had been prepared to do in reaching free trade agreements with other countries.”
Australian agriculture producers, such those who raise beef, sheep, grains, and sugar, will have unprecedented access to the $24 trillion economy as a result of Australia’s goal to establish a large free trade agreement with Europe.
The EU group is being tough on the government even though it just wants a little portion of the rich European market.
When asked on Tuesday if acceptable concessions could be made, the trade minister stated that the government was ready to “walk away” from the agreement.
Australia will not “do any deal for it’s own sake,” Mr. Watt echoed his Cabinet colleague.
“We think we can get some good market access that makes a big difference for Australian producers, but it would still be a relatively small fraction of the whole EU market,” he added.
Therefore, “we don’t expect it to see the EU farm industry swamped with Australian products, but even if we got the amount we’re asking for that would make a big difference for Australian producers.”
The stringent limitations placed on geographical indicators by Europe continue to be a serious “stumbling block” in the negotiations.
Indicators like these generally identify the precise place where a product, like champagne, is manufactured.
The EU has remained steadfast in its demand that Australia remove these geographical indications from 234 spirits, 166 food products, including feta, brie, Pecorino Romano, and balsamic vinegar, and 166 food goods. This effectively prevents domestic producers from using such names.
Since many of the nearly 400 items on the list were not made in Australia, it is believed that the government has removed many of them.
We naturally reply that prosecco is a grape type, not a geographical issue, but they claim that they are European names that define certain locations, Mr. Watt added.
Furthermore, as we have already stated, Australian producers place just as much importance on these phrases as European producers who have a rich family history entwined with their products.
Since the government completed trade deals with India and the United Kingdom, negotiations with the European Union have started in June 2018 and have since taken precedence over all other matters.
With a trade value of approximately $100 billion a year, Europe ranks as Australia’s third-largest two-way trading partner.
While Australia and the EU have had serious disagreements on geographical markers, the Europeans are wary of opening the market to products like beef and other red meat.
Australia now runs a $40 billion trade deficit with Europe each year due to its $70 billion in yearly imports of goods and services as opposed to its $26 billion in annual exports of the same products and services.
