The trade minister says Australia is prepared to walk away from a free trade deal with the European Union if the bloc continues to play hardball.
The EU is pushing for geographic indicators – which Australia says is a no go – that would stop local producers from using labels like parmesan, prosecco and feta.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said he wouldn’t sign an agreement just for the sake of it, ahead of heading to Brussels on Saturday for another round of negotiations.
“We are not going to go at it at any cost,” he told a Senate hearing on Friday.
“If the Europeans play too hard, then we won’t have an agreement.”
He said access to the market of 450 million people would be a significant boost to Australia’s trade but the government was working on diversifying, including into the United States, India and southeast Asia.
“It’s not that we don’t have other options but … that’s a big, relatively wealthy community, so it’s an important one to get,” he said.
The trade minister is aiming to have an agreement by the middle of the year but says negotiations are not at the stage where he believes it’s a good deal for Australia.
“We want one. It’d be good for Australian businesses if we can get a satisfactory deal, but all of these things have to be determined by our national interests,” he said.
– AAP
