Donald Trump has sensationally backflipped on his push to slap a 10 per cent tax on Australian beef producers. The White House confirmed on Saturday it would cut tariffs on food and agriculture products, including Australian beef.
Trump signed the wide-ranging executive order to exclude coffee, tea, tropical fruits, coca, bananas, oranges and tomatoes. The Trump administration said the move would seek to reduce growing cost-of-living pressures in America.
The executive order is retroactive which means importers will be refunded amounts paid to the government.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order modifying the scope of the reciprocal tariffs that he first announced on April 2, 2025,” the White House statement said.
“Specifically, certain qualifying agricultural products will no longer be subject to those tariffs.”
Australia exports more than $2 billion worth of beef to the US a year and despite the tariffs, beef exports grew in 2025.
Australian producers unexpectedly benefited as other nations were slapped with bigger tariffs. Picture: Newswire
This is due to a decline in beef production domestically, along with high tariffs slapped on other producers like Brazil.
Commonwealth Bank sustainable and agricultural economist Dennis Voznesenski told Newswire Australia’s gain was unexpected and that Australia was the only country with enough stock to meet America’s supply needs.
“Mexico had a flesh eating bacteria called new age screw worm with the US closing the border to Mexico … Canada exports to the US are down 25 per cent from last year as they rebuild stock and as of August 1 President Trump plans to put a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil.”
Australia’s levy was 10 per cent.
The backdown follows a wide ranging speech on April 2, when President Trump announced his sweeping tariff policy, Australia’s beef exporters were singled out.
“Australia bans – and they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything – but they ban American beef,” President Trump said.
“Yet we imported $3bn 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. And you know, I don’t blame them, but we’re doing the same thing right now starting at midnight tonight.”
Trump has faced criticism over the backtrack from Democrats, with the administration being described a “putting out a fire that they started and claiming it as progress”.
“The Trump Administration is finally admitting publicly what we’ve all known from the start: Trump’s Trade War is hiking costs on people,” Senior House Democrat Richard Neal said.
“Every day that Trump’s tariffs remain in place is another day that families, small businesses, farms, and manufacturers get crushed.
“It’s time to end the entire Trade War.”
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