‘Isn’t good enough’: Farrell threatens to walk on EU deal

With both sides warning that a failure to reach an agreement now could delay a deal by months or even years, Trade Minister Don Farrell and his EU counterpart Valdis Dombrovskis are set to meet on the sidelines of G7 talks in Osaka, Japan.

Speaking from Japan on Sunday, Senator Farrell said he was prepared to walk away again, meaning Australia and the European Union would likely have to wait until after elections were held for the European parliament.

“I walked away from an agreement back in July because I didn’t think it was good enough for Australia. I’m prepared to do the same again,” Senator Farrell told Sky News.

“In these very uncertain times it’s important that you have friends on the world stage and the Europeans should be good friends with us, but at the moment the offer on the table isn’t good enough and I’m aiming to get a better one.”

Negotiations on the proposed free trade deal with the EU first commenced in 2018 and while there is broad agreement between Canberra and Brussels, a number of sticking points remain.

In July, Senator Farrell walked out of the most recent round of talks in Brussels, flagging that “further negotiations” would be required to reach an agreement.

If successful, Australian producers would receive greater trade access for beef, cheese, lamb, rice and sugar to a market of more than 448 million people with a nominal GDP of $US16.6 trillion.

But as part of the deal, the EU has been threatening to remove the naming rights of Australian products including prosecco, mozzarella, feta and parmesan, on the grounds that those names originate from specific European regions.

Australian negotiations have, however, opposed this proposal, citing the costs of renaming Australian products and argues that as a nation of immigrants, many Australians have familial links to the products.

In recent days, the agricultural industry has ramped up pressure on the federal government to reject any deal that would leave Australian farmers worse off.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Tuesday, National Farmers Federation outgoing president Fiona Simson labelled Brussels’ previous offer as a “dud” and claimed the current offer would send the agricultural sector “backwards”.

Following the meeting, Senator Farrell will travel to China with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese amid a further thawing in tensions between Australia and its largest trading partner.