EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry
(Beef Export to the United States of America – Quota Years 2015-21)
Order 2014
Statutory Basis
Under the Australian Meat and Live-stock (Quotas) Act 1990 and the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997, the Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture (the department) may, where restrictions are imposed on exports of Australian meat, establish a scheme to allocate quota among holders of export licences.
This order is made under section 17 of the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.
Background to Order
In 1995 the United States of America (US) applied a tariff rate quota regime to certain beef imports as part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Uruguay Round outcome. When the quota was filled in 2001 the Australian Government agreed to industry requests to establish a quota administrative system for the fair and orderly management of beef exports to the US.
In 2005 the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) came into effect, providing additional access amounts for beef. Since 2005 Australia has had tariff free in-quota access with quota amounts increasing in set stages. This arrangement will continue until 2022 when in that year the out-of-quota tariff will become zero and a quota management system will no longer be required. Instead, from 2023 a US safeguard provision will allow for beef exports in excess of 448 634 tonnes to be subject to a price-based tariff.
The order outlines the quota administrative processes that operate on an annual basis. For the purpose of this order, the quota year runs from 1 January to 31 December.
Consultation
The US beef quota system is managed by the department on an industry-agreed cost recovery basis. The current administrative system was put in place in 2006 following a review of the 2002 arrangements. US beef orders are re-issued to cover future quota years. These changes are mechanical in nature and do not require consultation.
The regulatory impact analysis conducted in line with Office of Best Practice Regulation guidelines indicates the changes would have low or no impact on businesses (OBPR ID 17530).
Summary of Order
The order explains how beef may be exported tariff free to the US.
There are no company-specific quota allocations. The quota is managed on a first-come-first-served (FCFS) basis with a safeguard trigger applying if shipments to the US reach 85 per cent of the quota before 1 October in any year. If it appears the trigger level will be reached, eligible exporters (as defined in section 9 of the order) will be informed of their Provisional Trigger Entitlement (PTE) prior to the trigger day. Where the trigger level is not reached, the FCFS arrangements will continue.
An exporter requires a quota certificate to land the beef tariff free in the US. The order details the procedure for acquiring such a certificate and the rules that apply to the calculation, use, non-use and trade of PTEs.
Explanation of Amendments
The amendments are primarily to the dates to reflect the timelines applying to the 2015-21 quota years.
In addition, several minor amendments were made to improve the readability of the legislation and ensure the trigger day provisions are correctly set out in the order.
Human Rights Compatibility
The amendments to the Order are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
The amendments to the order do not raise any human rights issues as their focus is on continuing existing administrative arrangements into future quota years.