April 12, 2007

US-South Korea FTA worries Australian beef producers

A new Free Trade Agreement between US and South Korea, which may see the removal of a 40-percent tariff on US beef, could do serious damage to Australian beef exports, a major Australian cattle lobby group said.

Australian cattle group Agforce's Greg Brown said cattle producers would now lobby the Australian government to protect the country's third largest beef export market by negotiating an FTA with South Korea.

Although Australia still has time on its side in that the US-South Korea FTA still has to be ratified by their respective governments, the government should move quickly to establish its own FTA, Brown said.