Democrat Senator Pressures Trump Trade Representative for Tariffing Australia

Australian beef took the biggest hit from the Trump administration’s 10 percent baseline tariffs.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) speaks during a hearing with the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 29, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

U.S. Democrat Senator Mark Warner has grilled Trump’s Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over recent tariffs placed on Australian exports, saying they undermine U.S.-Australia ties as well as the AUKUS agreement.

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the “Liberation Day” tariffs, which included a baseline 10 percent tariff on all imports to the United States, which captured Australia’s lucrative beef trade.

During a Senate hearing in Washington on April 8, Warner raised posed the question to Greer.

“We have a trade surplus with Australia,” Warner said.

“We have a free trade agreement.

“They are an incredibly important national security partner. Why were they whacked with a tariff?” Warner questioned, asking why Australia needed to be hit with the ”least bad” tariff, or any tariff.

Greer responded saying the Trump administration was dealing with a $1.2 trillion yearly trade deficit left by the Biden administration.

“We should be running up the score in Australia,” he said, using a term in sports where teams play hard and keep scoring points even after they are assured victory.

“Despite the agreement, they ban our beef, they ban our pork, they’re getting ready to impose measures on our digital companies. It’s incredible.”

The digital aspect refers to Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code, a world-first measure that forced Big Tech companies to pay media outlets for their content.

In December, the Labor government announced it would be revising the code so that the government can tax companies that refuse to make a content deal. That move was in response to Meta’s (owner of Facebook) decision not to renew its multi-million-dollar content deals.

Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump's nominee to be the U.S. Trade Representative, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office in Washington on Feb. 6, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Cow Concerns

Australia’s initial fears around imported U.S. meat stemmed from concerns over mad cow disease, with the ban first enacted in 2003 after a Canadian cow was diagnosed with the illness.

The estimated damage bill of mad cow in Australia’s cattle industry would mount up to billions and necessitate massive culls.

“The cost of having mad cow disease coming to this country would be in the tens of billions of dollars, I think it’s been measured at about $40 billion dollars,” Australian Nationals Senator Matt Canavan told The Epoch Times.

Australia now allows the import of cooked U.S. meat products, while the ban on fresh meat was lifted in 2019.

However, U.S. producers still need to go through Australia’s biosecurity certification rules, which mandate that all cattle must have “continuously” resided in the country of origin since their birth.

On this point, the U.S. are asking for exemptions because their cattle herds are sometimes topped up with Canadian and Mexican bovine.

This exemption is still being evaluated.

Greer has labelled the rejection of fresh meat as “specious” and “fake science.”

The Trump administration has taken a hard edge to similar rules in Argentina and the UK, which keep U.S. beef out of their markets due to concerns around mad cow disease.