Australia and EU determined to seal trade deal, Australian minister says as talks revive

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia and the European Union have revived talks for a sweeping free trade agreement, after Australia's trade minister Don Farrell met with the European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič in Paris on Wednesday.

The meeting on the sidelines of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting comes amid a Wednesday deadline by the United States for countries to send their best offer in trade negotiations.

Farrell met the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris on Tuesday, after Australia criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's move to double steel tariffs to 50% from 25% and called for the removal of a 10% tariff on all its exports.

"Both Australia and the EU recognize that now is the time to strengthen our economic partnership, and we’re working through the remaining issues to try and finalize the deal," Farrell told Reuters in a statement.

A pact with the region was "about building economic resilience in a rapidly changing global environment," said Farrell.

For his part, Sefcovic told journalists in Paris "we believe we can achieve substantial progress this year" in the free-trade talks, which have been on ice since 2023.

Agriculture topped a list of outstanding issues for an EU deal that officials will work on, although Australian officials could not say when the pact would be agreed.

Australia has previously offered to put the removal of its luxury car tax on the table but wants greater access for lamb and beef exports to Europe.

However, some big meat-producing EU member countries like France have reservations about opening the bloc's markets to potential major competitors like Australia. Such concerns are also holding up talks with South American countries.

Sefcovic said he had also confirmed the EU's interest in "structured cooperation" with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc, which Australia currently chairs.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; additional reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris; Editing by Bernadette Baum)