Australia defends lamb exports against potential US tariffs

Australian Ambassador to the US Greg Moriarty has defended Australian lamb imports before the US International Trade Commission as the Trump administration considers potential tariffs or restrictions on $1.6 billion of sheep meat exports.

Moriarty argued that the decline in the American lamb industry is driven by domestic factors, including drought, reduced demand for wool, and the removal of US government wool subsidies, rather than foreign competition. He stated that imports have merely filled a supply gap created by declining domestic production and warned that restricting imports could increase costs for American consumers and reduce product availability.

The US imports nearly 80 per cent of the lamb it consumes, with most shipments originating from Australia and New Zealand. US Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer has instructed the commission to investigate whether these imports have caused serious injury to the domestic industry, a move that could lead to new trade barriers such as quotas or tariffs.