Opposition Probes PM Over ‘Invented’ Trump Call on Beef Tariffs

Last week, the Australian government decided to drop bio-restrictions on US beef imports into the country.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell speaks to the media during a press conference on Day 6 of the 2025 federal election campaign, in Melbourne, Australia on April 3, 2025. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

This week Question Time began with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responding to opposition queries over the exact nature of discussions between the Australian and U.S. leadership on beef tariffs.

Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley claimed Trade Minister Don Farrell “invented” a conversation between Trump and Albanese.

Earlier, Farrell said on Sky News Australia that “the President of the United States had raised [the beef issue] with the prime minister” in a direct conversation.

But later in another interview on ABC, Albanese said that was not the case, and that “this has been a process that has been there for 10 years—the review process.”

“The issue was the beef that had come from Canada or Mexico to the United States, and then whether it could be traced—whether those arrangements could ensure that our biosecurity was looked after.”

While the ban on U.S. beef imports into Australia had been lifted in 2019, restrictions were still in place due to concerns Mexican and Canadian cattle were used to bolster U.S. herds.

During Question Time, Ley pressed the government on how they could be trusted with negotiating “Liberation Day” tariffs if it confused “a public Trump statement with a private phone call.”

Replying to Ley, Albanese simply confirmed a phone call with Trump on May 5, 2025.

“He’s been very, very nice to me, very respectful to me. And you know, we’ve had a very good relationship,” the prime minister said.

“The truth is that no country in the world has a lower tariff than Australia … and the arrangements that have been put in place are all at least that.”

He also reiterated his long-held view that tariffs are “an act of economic self-harm,” adding that, “Americans are still importing goods from the global community. They’re just paying more for them.”

Last week, Labor lifted biosecurity restrictions on U.S. beef following months of discussion on how to deal with 10 percent tariffs on all Australian exports to the United States.

Farrell, speaking to Sky News Australia on July 27, rejected any suggestion the removal of tariffs was aimed at easing relations with the Trump administration.

“We don’t make decisions about our biosecurity based on the requests from presidents of other countries,” he said, stressing the process was driven by the Department of Agriculture and had taken over a decade.

Nationals Push for Clarity

Meanwhile later in Question Time, Nationals Leader David Littleproud continued warning of risks to Australia’s beef sector, pressing the Agriculture Minister Julie Collins on whether the Inspector-General of Biosecurity’s recommendations—such as oversight from a scientific advisory panel—had been followed.

Collins said it was based on “a risk-based assessment” and made “on a scientific basis.”

Collins insisted that the traceability systems in the U.S. and Australia are equivalent, and the decision was based on scientific assessment.

“All food imported into Australia must be safe and compliant with our food standards. So this has been done on a scientific basis,” she said.

“I’d urge them [the opposition] not to be undermining Australia’s biosecurity,” she concluded.