On 24 March 2026, Australia and the European Union agreed the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement. Prime Minister Albanese’s optimistic announcement is at odds with the widespread criticism and disappointment evident in the responses from the Victorian Farmers’ Federation, Canegrowers, the National Farmers’ Federation, Queensland Farmers’ Federation and the Australian Lot Feeder’s Association, set out below.

Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement

The Hon. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, Media Release, 24 March 2026

After 8 years of negotiations, Australia has secured a landmark trade deal with the European Union, the world’s second largest economy.

The Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement will lower trade and investment barriers between Australia and the European Union – a market of around 450 million people.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, together with the Minister for Trade and Tourism Senator the Hon Don Farrell and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Mr Maroš Šef?ovi? announced the conclusion of negotiations for a free trade agreement today which, together with the Australia-EU Security and Defence partnership, is a key aspect of our growing strategic relationship.

The deal will strengthen our economic and strategic partnership; demonstrate our mutual commitment to open and rules-based trade; and diversify our trade – bolstering Australia’s competitiveness, growth and resilience in an increasingly uncertain global trade environment.

The trade agreement will result in 98 per cent of the current value of Australia’s exports entering the European Union duty free.

Australian farmers and producers will benefit from the elimination of almost all European Union tariffs on agricultural products. This includes wine, nuts, fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, most dairy products, wheat and barley, and seafood.

For example, Australian wine producers and exporters will benefit to the tune of around $37 million annually with the removal of European Union import tariffs. 

For other important agricultural products, the agreement delivers commercially meaningful access through new or expanded tariff rate quota volumes, including for beef, sheep meat, sugar, rice, wheat gluten, skimmed milk powder and natural butter.

The removal of most Australian tariffs on imports from the EU will make things like European wine, spirits, biscuits, chocolates and pasta cheaper at Aussie checkouts. Farmers and businesses will also benefit from cheaper motor vehicles and machinery.

We have protected the rights of Australians to continue using well known terms such as parmesan, and kransky. We have preserved the right for Australian winemakers to keep making and selling Prosecco domestically. Grandfathering and lengthy phase-out periods have been secured for a limited number of terms such as Feta, Romano and Gruyere.

Almost all Australian exports of manufactured goods and mineral resources will face zero import tariffs into the European Union. For example, the elimination of European Union tariffs on Australian critical minerals and hydrogen will support our ambition to become a renewable energy superpower and help stabilise supply chains.

The trade agreement will support investment in both directions. The European Union was Australia’s second largest source of foreign investment in 2024, with total investment stock worth $869.3 billion.

Australian companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, will have better access to bid for lucrative European government contracts, worth around $845 billion annually, including for rail and construction.

Australian service providers will have greater market access to the European Union, including in financial services, education, tourism and communications. Australian professionals will be able to travel to the European Union more easily and will benefit from streamlined recognition of their Australian qualifications.

The Agreement will enter into force when both Australia and the European Union have completed their domestic processes. 

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“Australia’s relationship with the European Union continues to go from strength to strength.

“After almost 8 years of negotiations, my good friend President von der Leyen and I agreed to the landmark Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement.

“I am proud that we have been able to secure this deal, which will deliver benefits for both Australia and the European Union for generations to come.

“This deal creates major new opportunities for Australian exporters in the European Union’s massive $30 trillion economy, and will reduce costs for Australian consumers.”

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell

“This hard-fought deal delivers real commercial gains for Australian exporters, farmers and producers into a market that has been difficult to enter or effectively closed for decades.” 

“The removal of EU tariffs on most of Australia’s exports gives Australian exporters the opportunity to diversify trade with 27 European countries and 450 million consumers.”

“This is a strategically important and economically valuable agreement at a time when Australian exporters are navigating choppy trade waters. 

“More trade, with more trading partners means more supply chain security, more well-paying jobs, cheaper prices, and more national income to build things like urgent care clinics and improve government services.”

Ag industry hung out to dry in EU deal:
Victorian Farmers’ Federation

Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), Media Release, 24 March 2026

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says local farmers have been sold out and will be the big losers in a newly minted free-trade agreement signed between Australia and the European Union (EU).

VFF President Brett Hosking said it was clear the EU and Australia’s competitors had run rings around our negotiating team, with no improvement secured on the deal Australia rejected three years ago.

“It’s pretty embarrassing. For farmers, no deal would have been better than what we’ve been dealt.”

“At a time when farmers are getting smashed by devastating water buybacks and skyrocketing fuel and fertiliser costs, we’ve been hung out to dry for the sake of getting the deal done.” 

Mr Hosking said the deal could see many local farmers impacted negatively. 

“Australian agriculture is a net-exporter and the market access numbers simply don’t stack up. Beef access is a third of what industry was seeking and for sheep meat, New Zealand got five times more. This puts us at the back of the pack going forward and at a disadvantage.”

“For our dairy farmers, it’s largely a one-way deal. The EU already exports $980 million of dairy into Australia, with only $29 million going back. It’s a hard pill to swallow for the country’s largest dairy producing state.”

“Consumers could also be set to pay more at the checkout for dairy. This move slugs Aussie brands with harmful geographical indicators, that will confuse Australian shoppers and cost them more.”

“With greater competition from international brands, shoppers could lose access to the buy the local brands they know and love.”

“We’re a $100 billion industry that directly employs hundreds of thousands of people. To be offered up as a bargaining chip is bitterly disappointing,” Mr Hosking said.

Raw deal
– Sugar shortchanged in EU agreement: Canegrowers

Canegrowers, Media Release, 24 March 2026

CANEGROWERS has slammed the outcome for sugar in the long-awaited Australia–EU Free Trade Agreement as a complete failure, saying it fails cane farming families and Australia’s sugar manufacturers and falls well short of what producers had been seeking. 

“This is a horrendous outcome for Australia’s cane growers,” CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan said.

“For the past decade we have made our needs abundantly clear to the Australian Government and they have not delivered. There is no meaningful commercial access for sugar in this deal.  

“The market access Australia has achieved is extremely small – less than 2 per cent of Europe’s import requirement and well below what Brazil and its Mercosur partners secured last year, which was around four times larger than Australia’s outcome.”

“Compounding this, the agreement delivers no growth, no pathway to expand access and effectively locks growers into a bad deal for the next generation. 

“It’s a capitulation to protectionist European sugar interests, plain and simple.” 

Mr Galligan said the outcome was particularly frustrating given the EU’s ongoing need for imported sugar. 

“The EU is a net importer of sugar and must bring in significant volumes each year to meet domestic demand. 

“Australia can help meet that demand with high-quality, sustainably produced sugar, but instead we have been locked out.” 

Under the agreement announced in Canberra today, Australia will receive an additional 35,000 tonnes of quota access over three years – building on the longstanding 9,925 tonne allocation. 

Mr Galligan said the scale of access fell well short of what was required to deliver commercial value. 

“These volumes are not economically meaningful. They will not shift the dial for growers or materially change Australia’s position in the European market. 

“This is not what genuine market access looks like.” 

Mr Galligan said Queensland cane growers are among the most exposed to the global sugar price and receive no government support to buffer that volatility. 

“This deal does nothing to change that position.

“We support trade liberalisation, but it has to be meaningful. Growers need outcomes that create genuine opportunity, not agreements that deliver nothing now and take us backwards when it comes to trade liberalisation.” 

CANEGROWERS will review the full detail of the agreement and continue advocating for expanded global market access and fair trading conditions for Australian sugar. 

‘Extremely disappointing’ EU deal offers little meaningful access:
National Farmers’ Federation

Hamish McIntyre, NFF President, National Farmers’ Federation, Media Release, 24 March 2026

Australian farmers are extremely disappointed that negotiations for a free trade deal with the European Union (EU) have concluded without commercially meaningful agricultural market access gains since Australia last walked away from negotiations.

What the Australian Government has accepted today appears to offer no material change for key agricultural commodities as what the Government rightly rejected in October 2023.

For decades, our sector has been guided by a clear principle of wanting more two-way trade with the EU, not less.

The NFF has long championed free and fair trade, recognising its role in global economic growth and stability. Australian agriculture is unwavering in its commitment to this.

A deal with a market of this size offered an opportunity to help ease the pressure on farmers who are grappling with the impacts from the conflict in the Middle East, China’s beef tariffs, and United States trade volatility, which are creating global trade headwinds.

The NFF acknowledges the efforts made by Australian negotiating officials against a tough counterparty. While we acknowledge some progress on issues such as geographical indicators, preserving the use of names like prosecco and parmesan, and access conditionality, farmers will rightly be concerned that after years of negotiations this deal hasn’t delivered commercially meaningful access for Australian agricultural exports.

They will now pay the price for this subpar EU deal for decades to come.

Questions will be asked as to how we can now advocate for others to liberalise trade, having accepted a deal ourselves that does not reflect the core tenet that free-flowing agricultural trade drives positive economic and sustainability outcomes.

Market access is the lifeblood of Australian farmers who do not rely on Government subsidies. We are concerned the EU has offered subpar access for Australian producers while potentially needing to deploy billion-dollar subsidies to get their producers to accept the deal. This is exactly what happened when the EU signed a deal with the Mercosur nations, fast-tracking nearly $80 billion in farm subsidies, sending a clear signal protectionism is alive and well.

A strong industry and Government partnership has been a tenet of Australian trade policy for many decades. The Government must now demonstrate how it will rebuild this trust. While the Government cannot control other nations’ trade policies, it can control its own, so a good first step would be to pause its plan to increase export costs on industry through full cost recovery until global conditions stabilise.

Queensland farmers disappointed by Australia-European Union trade deal outcome:
Queensland Farmers’ Federation

Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF), Media Release, 25 March 2026

The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) has joined the broader Australian agriculture sector in its disappointment following the outcomes of the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement.

While QFF is still reviewing the full details of the agreement, we are disheartened by the inadequate additional allocations for key Queensland agricultural exports, including beef and sugar.

QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said trade agreements of this scale are generational decisions and critical in delivering meaningful results for Australian agriculture.

“For decades, our sector has been guided by a clear principle of wanting more two-way trade with the EU, not less,” Ms Sheppard said.

“Deals such as this shape the future of our sector for decades. As such, QFF supports the National Farmers’ Federation’s (NFF) sentiment that for agreements such as these, a bad deal is actually worse than no deal.”

“There is significant concern that other countries have secured more favourable agricultural trade access to the European market than Australia under this agreement.

“This is particularly troubling given Australian exports around 70 per cent of what we produce, and our farmers do not benefit from the same levels of government subsidy seen in other nations. Market access is critical to the long-term viability and competitiveness of Australian agriculture.”

Ms Sheppard said Queensland farmers produce world-class food, fibre, and foliage backed by strong sustainability credentials, and should be competing on a level playing field.

“Australian agriculture delivers high-quality, safe and sustainably produced products that are in demand globally. Trade agreements must recognise and support that value.”

“As the NFF have noted, this subpar agreement has come at a dreadful time for Australian farmers, with many exporters already working through trade volatility in other key export markets amongst the global disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East.”

QFF acknowledges that while some commodities have welcomed elements of the deal, the overall agreement falls short of the expectations and aspirations of Queensland farmers and regional communities.

“We recognise this is a complex and broad agreement, with agriculture one component of a much larger deal. However, farmers, agricultural exports and regional communities are worth fighting for, and decisions like this risk locking in generational disadvantage for our primary producers,” Ms Sheppard said.

CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan labelled the outcome as a complete failure for cane farming families and Australian sugar manufacturers that falls well short of what producers had been seeking.

“The market access Australia has achieved is extremely small – less than 2% of Europe’s import requirement and well below what Brazil and its Mercosur partners secured last year, which was around four times larger than Australia’s outcome,” Mr Galligan said.

“Compounding this, the deal delivers no growth, no pathway to expand access and effectively locks growers into a bad deal for the next generation.”

“The EU is a net importer of sugar and must bring in significant volumes each year to meet domestic demand. Australia can help meet that demand with high-quality, sustainably produced sugar, but instead we have been locked out.”

eastAUSmilk CEO Eric Danzi echoed concerns around the generational impacts of the agreement and the uncompetitive nature of the deal.

“The export quotas this agreement has opened up for Australian dairy products are offset by the greater risk of import pressure on our producers,” Mr Danzi said.

“Australia’s dairy industry is one of the least subsidised globally, and this agreement has opened our domestic market up to some of the most supported producers in the world. This creates an uneven playing field for Australian farmers and risks the long-term viability of Australian dairying.”

“We do acknowledge some positive outcomes in the deal for the industry, including continued use of certain geographical indications, including parmesan, and the opportunity for high-value premium dairy exports, but have to stress that this deal strips protections from our domestic producers that will be felt for generations.”

QFF will continue to work with industry and government to advocate for improved trade outcomes that support a strong competitive and sustainable agricultural sector.

Grain fed beef access set back by disappointing EU FTA outcome:
Australian Lot Feeders’ Association

Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA), Media Release, 24 March 2026

The Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA), as a member of the Australia–EU Red Meat Market Access Taskforce, is extremely disappointed by the outcome of the Australia–EU Free Trade Agreement announced today.

ALFA President Grant Garey said the agreement represents a significant failure to deliver meaningful outcomes for Australia’s red meat industry.

“By any measure, the Government’s report card on this deal is a failing grade, delivering one of the weakest free trade agreement outcomes for our sector to date,” Mr Garey said.

“For Australia’s grain fed beef sector, the agreement falls far short of the meaningful improvements in market access that we consistently sought throughout negotiations.”  

“In practical terms, it represents a step backwards.”

Under the existing 481 quota system, grain fed beef entered the European Union tariff-free. Under this agreement, a 7.5 per cent tariff will apply to grain fed beef volumes supplied under the new FTA quota.

“While the Government may point to the removal of the 20 per cent in-quota tariff on the small existing WTO Hilton quota, this does little to offset an outcome that locks in ongoing constraints for grain fed beef exports,” Mr Garey said.

While small, incremental quota increases have been secured, they won’t be available for years and remain far below industry expectations or the levels required for Australia to compete effectively with other major suppliers into the European Union.

“Australians expect fair trade outcomes. Allowing unrestricted, tariff-free access for European protein and dairy products into Australia, while maintaining tight limits on Australian red meat exports to Europe, fails the pub test.” Mr Garey said.

This was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure meaningful access to a premium market of 450 million consumers, and it has been comprehensively squandered.”