Anyone who has played sports at a competitive level knows that streaks happen — both losing streaks and winning streaks.
Anyone who has paid even a small amount of attention to the first half-year of Donald Trump’s presidency knows that he continues to enjoy a winning streak unmatched by any other U.S. president in history.
Or should I say “made happen”? Yeah, that’s better — and much more accurate.
The newest triumph in Trump’s remarkable series of victories comes from Australia. The left-leaning Labor government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, unexpectedly reversed its stance by lifting all restrictions on American beef imports. This decision was celebrated by Trump’s administration as a significant win against “non-scientific trade barriers” that had previously sidelined U.S. farmers for twenty years.
In April, Albanese had firmly pledged to resist Trump’s demands for complete access for U.S. beef. However, with his reversal, the score is clear: Trump 1, Albanese 0. Final result.
Australia’s Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said in a statement seen by AP that lifting the restrictions – originally put in place as part of an effort to protect the country from mad cow disease – would mean a more open and competitive marketplace Down Under.
Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this.
American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world. It’s absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years.
Gone are the days of putting American farmers on the sidelines. This is yet another example of the kind of market access the President negotiates to bring America into a new golden age of prosperity, with American agriculture leading the way.
Australia’s move follows a decade-long, science-based review and enhanced U.S. biosecurity controls that now allow for better traceability of cattle across the U.S. and Canada, although I’d venture a solid guess that while Australian officials emphasized that the decision was based on science, it comes following recent U.S. tariffs on Australian goods announced by Trump.
Trump criticized Australian import restrictions on U.S. beef in April as he announced that tariffs of at least 10 percent would be placed on Australian imports, with tariffs on steel and aluminum at 50 percent.
Trump told reporters at the time:
They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don’t blame them, but we’re doing the same thing right now.
And just like that, no more Australian tariffs on U.S. beef.
Coincidence? Of course not.
