Oct 23 – The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), the peak body representing Australian farmers, made a strong call on Monday for the federal government to withdraw from negotiations concerning a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU).
In a statement released from its headquarters in Canberra, the NFF expressed concerns that Australian farmers could face a detrimental outcome from an unfavorable deal with the EU, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell, is scheduled to attend the G7 trade ministers’ meeting later this October. During this event, he will hold discussions with his EU counterpart, Valdis Dombrovskis, with the aim of finalizing negotiations on this significant trade agreement, which has been under discussion for five years.
NFF President Fiona Simson emphasized that the current terms of the agreement on the table offer no advantages for Australian farmers. She urged Farrell to abandon the negotiations if the deal fails to provide improved conditions for the farming sector.
“The terms proposed so far would, in fact, set back certain segments of our agricultural industry. We have not encountered a proposed trade deal quite like this one,” she stated in Monday’s announcement.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the European Union ranks as Australia’s third-largest trading partner in terms of two-way trade and its second-largest source of foreign investment.
DFAT has argued that an FTA with the EU would provide Australian exporters with a competitive edge when it comes to sending their products and services to the European market.
However, Simson contended that there is no indication that the EU is willing to offer a commercially meaningful agreement that would benefit Australia’s agriculture sector.
“The current proposal, as it stands, would place Australian farmers at a disadvantage for the next five decades,” she added.