The Brexit wave hits Australian beef producers
Uncertainties regarding trade conditions with the UK in a post-Brexit era are starting to affect beef producers from Australia. The $238 million annual trade between the two parts is now shadowed by the deadlock registered in the negotiations between UK and EU on the terms of tariff quotas for Great Britain after 29 March 2019, according to Financial Review.
"There's already a substantial amount of money being spent on cattle that will arrive post-Brexit," said Josh Anderson, European business manager for Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA). "Producers in Australia are having to make commercial decisions now on buying and raising stock without knowing if they will actually be able to ship it to market."
The EU stifles imports by allowing only a limited amount of other countries' beef to come into the European market at reduced or zero tariffs. Above that quota, the tariffs are so punitive that further exports to the EU aren't viable. With Britain leaving the EU, these quotas have to be divided between them and resubmitted to the WTO.
"Australian beef industry wants the UK to take a more liberal approach – if not getting rid of tariffs, then at least having a single tariff quota that all countries can access on an equal basis, rather than continuing with country-specific quotas", explained Anderson on a Tweet posted on MLA Europe's Twitter account.
Also, US, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, India, Brazil, Argentina and Russia have expressed their concerns about this situation at a meeting of the WTO's Market Access Committee. "Brexit raises more concerns than opportunities at the moment", added Josh Anderson.
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