<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The best part of a decade after negotiations started, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australia"><span>Australia</span></a><span> has finalised a free-trade deal with </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/europe" rel="" target="" title="Europe"><span>Europe</span></a><span> which the government says will boost the economy by $10 billion a year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under the long-awaited agreement, Australian farmers will be able to sell nearly 10 times as much red meat to Europe, while local producers also appear set to be able to keep using names like prosecco, feta, halloumi and parmesan despite the objections of European Union nations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In return, the luxury car tax - which hits major European manufacturers particularly hard - will be axed as will the 5 per cent tariff on EU goods.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-after-donald-trumps-48hour-deadline-iran-threatens-to-start-hitting-gulf-power-plants-and-mine-waters/d86936cf-ab6f-40ae-be34-efc1f0a60a98"><strong><span>Single Trump post sends oil prices tumbling</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/anthony-albanese" rel="" target="" title="Prime Minister Anthony Albanese"><span>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese</span></a><span> signed a joint statement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Parliament House this morning and confirmed the deal had been finalised.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is a win-win," Albanese said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It eliminates tariffs on key Australian exports, including wine, seafood and horticulture, and it means our high-quality Australian produce, including beef, sheep meat, dairy, rice and sugar, will have access to consumers in the European market.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/australia-europe-free-trade-deal/97d5db5c-e8bd-4003-94ee-0c3b9df37ba0" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This benefits Australian consumers and companies too, with greater choice in goods and services at lower prices, including important inputs for our manufacturing and primary industry sectors."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The deal will allow farmers to sell 30,600 tonnes of beef to the EU without incurring any tariffs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-march-24-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/a6d7c67d-9a69-4279-88eb-985ccda7fb13"><strong><span>'Zombie' ships tracked in volatile shipping lane</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While roughly 10 times Australia's current quota of 3389 tonnes, the final figure has been met with fury from the local livestock industry, which had been pushing for at least 50,000 tonnes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australia's red meat sector has been profoundly let down by this outcome," Australia-EU red meat market access taskforce chair Andrew McDonald said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To land a deal so far below what other suppliers have secured is genuinely bewildering.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The agreement is a long way from anything resembling 'free and fair trade', particularly given Australia already provides the EU with quota‑and tariff‑free access for meat products like pork, while the A‑EU FTA locks in perpetual volume constraints on Australian red meat entering the EU.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This outcome also sits uneasily beside the EU's rhetoric of providing 'a level playing field for all' and its claims that Australia is a 'like‑minded' partner. In practice, this agreement delivers neither fairness nor reciprocity."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Negotiations on the free-trade deal first started in 2018, but broke down in 2023 when both parties hit an impasse over how much tariff-free beef Australia should be able to export.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-shortage-australia-four-day-work-week-solution/63c2f621-2796-4f85-805e-e5a9c4823160"><strong><span>'Isn't going to end soon': Push to work from home ramps up</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, talks resumed in the wake of US President Donald Trump's so-called "liberation day" tariff announcement, which put the value of reliable free trade agreements into stark contrast with the volatility coming from the world's largest economy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a long way from Europe to Australia, but it's absolutely worth it, because today we are writing a new chapter in our partnership," von der Leyen said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australia is a like-minded partner and is a trusted friend... good friends have to stand by each other to get closer, and that's what we're doing today."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In addition to the free-trade agreement, Canberra and Brussels will ink a defence agreement, and Australia is also set to join the EU's $158 billion Horizon Europe research program next year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>