On Tuesday 24 March, the EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) expressed serious concerns following the conclusion of the trade agreement between the EU and Australia, believing that European agriculture is once again being used as an adjustment variable for the Union’s trade and geopolitical objectives.
The agreement includes concessions deemed excessive in highly sensitive sectors such as beef, sheepmeat, sugar and rice.
With the EU-Mercosur agreement due to come into force shortly, the “cumulative effect” of successive trade agreements is considered unsustainable for many European family farms.
These concessions come at a time when farmers are facing a general rise in costs, insufficient prices and high geopolitical uncertainty, all of which increases their vulnerability.
Copa-Cogeca condemns the lack of truly effective guarantees and is awaiting the details of the agreement, particularly with regard to the protection of geographical indications and the management of quotas, before fully assessing its impact.
The European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) felt that the negotiations “once again lack transparency, with the key import quotas still undefined”.
ePURE sees the agreement as a further blow to Europe’s renewable ethanol industry. It grants Australia duty-free access for 10,000 tonnes of ethanol, a concession considered major in a sensitive sector, while the EU already authorises 650,000 tonnes under the Mercosur agreement.
Satisfactory items. Eucolait believes that EU dairy companies will benefit from better access to the Australian market, which is already significant with exports of almost €400 million in 2025, dominated by cheese. The abolition of customs duties on this product and the protection of geographical indications are welcomed, especially as Australian imports should remain limited, despite certain quotas.
In particular, the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV) welcomed the immediate abolition of the 5% import duty on European wines and the strengthening of the protection of geographical indications, including the end of the use of the term ‘Prosecco’ for Australian wines and clarified labelling rules to avoid any confusion.
spiritsEUROPE believes that the elimination of customs duties should significantly improve market access. The agreement protects 231 European geographical indications. Finally, spiritsEUROPE calls on the EU to maintain this momentum in negotiations with South-East Asia and the United Arab Emirates. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)