Producers spoke up - and that advocacy matters

Australian sheep producers, supply chain partners and industry advocates made their voices heard on the Australia–EU Free Trade Agreement - and Sheep Producers Australia wants to thank everyone who stood up and spoke out.

From producers sharing their concerns, to stakeholders backing the call for commercially meaningful market access, that advocacy mattered.

While negotiations have concluded, there’s still several steps before the agreement enters into force. This process is not over.

SPA remains deeply disappointed in an outcome that falls well short of what the sheepmeat industry sought. As we have said publicly, this is one of the worst trade deals in living memory for sheepmeat - not a deal that supports growth in our industry or reflects the opportunity the EU market should represent. 

The EU Red Meat Taskforce has been engaging with government on this and red meat sector priorities, officially, for eight years. Industry’s minimum request was substantially greater access, and the final sheepmeat outcome remains well below that threshold. 

This has never been about trade for trade’s sake. It has been about securing meaningful access to a premium market as part of a diversified trade future for Australian producers.

There are further steps ahead before the agreement enters into force, including finalising the agreement text – a process which requires legal checks of the draft text, the translation of the agreement into the 24 official languages of the EU and, from an Australian perspective, approval from the Federal Executive Council.

Once both sides have completed these processes, the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website suggests a signature is expected to occur late this year or early next year. Following this, both sides must complete further domestic legal and parliamentary processes before it’s “entry into force”. In short, this means there’s still work to do.

SPA will continue to voice opposition to this outcome, work with industry partners to explore options, and advocate strongly for sheep producers through the next stages. We will keep pressing the case that this agreement does not deliver what our industry needs or deserves.

The advocacy shown by producers and the supply chain has been powerful - and it remains important. Thank you for backing the industry and continuing to stand up for better outcomes.