EU talks stall as Australia seeks better free-trade agreement for farmers

Australia and the European Union are no closer to a $100 billion free-trade agreement, with Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt vowing the Albanese Government “won’t sell out” the nation’s farmers for a sub-par deal.

After more than five years of negotiations, Trade Minister Don Farrell left Brussels last week without a signed agreement, as both sides failed to break the deadlock.

At the heart of the stalemate is Australia’s refusal to back down on the EU’s objection to Australian food producers using terms such as feta, parmesan and prosecco.

Australia argues the names should not be restricted to geographical locations because Europeans have brought their culture and food processes to Australia through generations of immigration.

It also argues the terms have come to represent varieties rather than European regions to most Australians.

Senator Watt said Australia’s “fundamental position” was that it could not sign up to a deal that did not deliver “genuine benefits to Australian farmers and our national interests”.

“We’re not going to sell out our farmers. We’re not going to sell out our national interest just for the sake of getting a deal,” he told ABC radio.

“Other countries have done that and they’ve lived to regret it.”

Asked whether he believed the deal was “dead”, Senator Watt said there was still a fighting chance of the two parties reaching a mutually beneficial agreement.

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned to try to get the best deal that we possibly can for Australia,” he said.

“We’re certainly prepared to keep talking with the EU to get the best deal for Australia.”

His comments came after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — who discussed the deal with European leaders while at a NATO summit in Lithuania last week — flagged Australia could walk away from the table if the EU failed to make more concessions.

“We want to conclude this agreement, but we won’t be signing up to things that are not in Australia’s national interests,” Mr Albanese said ahead of a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Albanese — who also met with Portuguese leader Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — was pushing for a better deal for sheep and beef producers.

The FTA would unlock access for Australian farmers to a market of about 445 million people and a GDP of $24 trillion.

National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Maher applauded Senator Farrell’s determination to reject “a substandard deal”.

“We’re hopeful that with some grit and goodwill from both sides we can get this thing done in a way that benefits everyone, including Aussie farmers,” Mr Maher said.

“Australia should not have to accept a deal which is inferior to that of other countries.”

Mr Farrell said officials on both sides would try to meet again next month.

“We will continue to have constructive discussions with the Europeans with the ultimate aim of reaching an agreement,” he told reporters in Brussels.

“We want to — as quickly as we can — resolve the outstanding issues that divide us. . . (and) we’re prepared to persevere and persist until we get the right result.”

Cattle Australia chair David Foote said the offer on the table did not deliver “a fair deal” for Australian agriculture.

“We need a deal that recognises the value, uniqueness, safety and diversity of (Australia’s) agricultural commodities,” he said.

“A starting point could include reciprocal animal product volumes that would include the significant volume of pork products that come from the EU into our domestic market.”

Opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan agreed Australia should walk away if farmers were not offered adequate access to the EU market.

“We shouldn’t rush this deal if it’s a bad deal for Australia,” he told AAP.

“The European Union is a big economy. There’s a lot of customers there for us, but we certainly don’t want to do that at any cost.”