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Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell will push for greater wine and spirits access in Canada at a G20 summit in Milwaukee while urging the US to honor free trade obligations and drop lamb tariffs.
Trade Minister Don Farrell will seek greater market access for Australian wines and spirits in Canada at a G20 summit this week. The push aims to capitalize on the trade war between US President Donald Trump and his North American neighbor Canada.
Farrell will also call on the United States to honor its obligations under the free trade agreement with Australia. He wants Washington to remove tariffs and refrain from applying new ones to Australian lamb. He argues that Trump's tariffs are a potential roadblock to the Australia-US relationship. Our argument is that we want good relations with the United States, Farrell said in an interview.
Farrell Highlights Strategic Importance of US Partnership
They are our second-largest trading partner. They are our most important military partner. At the moment, our trade relationship is overwhelmingly in their favor. It has an impact on their cost of living, he said.
We think it is counterproductive for them to apply tariffs to products like lamb, which simply pushes up the price for ordinary American consumers. Farrell will make that case directly to US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. He and other G20 trade ministers convene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week. He will also meet with Canada's International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.
Australia Eyes Canadian Alcohol Market Gap
They will discuss ways Australia can exploit the gap in Canada's alcohol market. Canadian provincial governments generally control alcohol sales. They began banning American products last year amid Trump's tariffs and his bid to make Canada the 51st US state. Farrell said Australia was well positioned to fill the gap in Canada.
Australian wine exports to Canada already climbed 13 percent in volume and 20 percent in value to 188 million dollars in 2025-26. I think if we were to quickly fill that gap, it would be worth more than 100 million dollars at the start, Farrell said. It is a significant figure at a time when the wine industry is facing difficulties right around the country.
Government Initiative Targets Canadian Wine Exports
Canada is a priority growth market for Australian wine producers under the Accessing New Markets Initiative. That is a 55 million dollar government strategy to help industry take advantage of global economic uncertainty caused in part by Trump's tariffs. Australia's alignment with Canada will not go unnoticed by Trump and senior White House trade counselor Peter Navarro. Both railed against Canada during an event in the Oval Office on Monday US time.
Trump called Canada one of the worst countries in the entire world on trade. Navarro said the Canadians were the most difficult and arrogant of all. We make decisions based on our national interest, Farrell said. We are very definitely in the category of those countries that believe in free and fair trade.
In March, Canberra tweaked the rules to allow American beef into Australia. The change was heralded by the Trump administration as a significant win for American farmers.
Trade Deficit Persists Despite Beef Import Changes
However, that has not resulted in a discernible rise in US beef exports to Australia, which remain negligible. And Australian beef exports to the US have continued to climb to record highs. Farrell said there was no new offer on the table from Australia in return for tariff relief or a reprieve on lamb. The US International Trade Commission is conducting an investigation into whether lamb imports are a threat to the domestic industry.
That could be a precursor to tariffs. But US trade ambassador Jamieson Greer is likely to renew concerns about Australia's growing regulations on technology. This includes the proposed digital duty of care, which the US says is problematic.
brisbanetimes
smh:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Don Farrell G20 Australian Wine Exports US Lamb Tariffs Trump Trade War
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