Don Farrell points out most Australian beef exported to US goes to fast food giant McDonald’s
Donald Trump’s trade war could raise the price of American hamburgers, Australia’s trade minister has warned, amid fears that tariffs could be extended to beef and other agricultural products.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, said most of Australia’s beef exported to the United States went to fast food giant McDonald’s, and any new tariffs on our goods would inevitably increase the price Americans pay for their cheeseburgers or Big Macs.
He said he would continue pressing for Australian exemptions to Trump’s expanding tariff agenda, conceding he didn’t know what the president would consider in any possible deal, but that he would try to develop “an offer he can’t refuse”.
“I wish I could tell you exactly what the American government is finally going to do. To be honest with you, I suspect they don’t even know themselves,” Farrell told Sky News on Sunday.
The Australian government said it would continue arguing its case to wind back US tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminium exports as part of Trump’s worldwide trade barriers on all nations, and to avoid possible future tariffs on sectors, such as agriculture and medicine. Australian farmers are anxiously waiting to hear whether meat exports will be hit in the next round.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the US tariffs on Australia were not the act of a friendly nation. He said on Sunday, “We have great friends in the United States, and we expect them to act accordingly.”
“Tariffs are a tax on the American buyers of products from right around the world, regardless of where it’s coming from, on steel and aluminium.
