“We imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers,” Trump said.

Australia has controls on the importation of fresh US beef and beef products due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease.

Australian consumers unlikely to be impacted by tariffs

“It looks like 10 per cent is the lowest that has been put on countries. So I’d say, considering that’s all we’ve received, it’s a good result,” he told SBS News.

Mark Thomas is a livestock farmer from Western Australia. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan

The 37-year-old explains the tariffs shouldn’t impact the prices farmers receive from abattoirs as this is set according to supply and demand, which should remain strong.

In 2024, Australia exported 394,716 tonnes of beef to over 100 markets, worth $4.16 billion, according to the Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC).

Australia exported more than 394,000 tonnes of beef to over 100 different markets in 2024. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan

“Even with a 10 per cent tariff, I don’t believe that will reduce their [abattoir] margins to zero,” Thomas said.

“A lot of it’s lean trim, which is used for hamburgers. So unless you’re having hamburgers every night, you’re probably not going to be too affected,” he said.

Tony Hegarty is a beef and sheep producer in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Source: Supplied

Tony Hegarty, a beef and sheep producer in the Hunter Valley, said it’s important to “remain calm” as industries understand the full impacts.

He said that while there may be short-term impacts, the market will adjust and ship its produce elsewhere. It will largely be US customers who face increased costs due to the measures.

How US tariffs will drive up Big Mac prices in America

Tariffs, which are taxes imposed on goods imported into a country, could push up burger prices in the US as suppliers try to cover the extra fee.

Tariffs could push up burger prices in the US. Credit: Official White House photograph by Joyce N. Boghosian

RMAC chair John McKillop priced the total impact on American consumers from tariffs on Australian red meat at $600 million.

While expressing disappointment, Australian Meat Industry Council CEO Tim Ryan maintains the US remains an important market for Australian meat.

Source: SBS News

“The fundamentals around the Australian meat export industry have not changed. We produce a high-quality product that the world wants, and that’s not going to change today,” Ryan said.

They clarified that Australia does not have a ban on US beef exports, but has requested that beef made in the US from cattle born and raised in Mexico or Canada undergo biosecurity and food safety assessments.

Industry welcomes government response

“We can’t control what the US administration determines, but we can engage with them. This is a decision that they have made. It’s one which we think, importantly, is not in the interests of the United States.”