Canberra, June 6 || Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that his government will not loosen biosecurity laws as it considers lifting a restriction on imports of US beef.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Nine Entertainment newspapers reported on Friday that Albanese's Labor Party government could use the import ban on some beef slaughtered in the US as a bargaining chip in negotiations for an exemption from US tariffs.
Responding to the reports, Albanese said that his government would not negotiate on biosecurity but would be open to a solution that would not compromise food safety, news agency reported.
"We'll never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity," he told radio.
Australia lifted a blanket ban on US beef imports, which had been in place since 2003, in 2019 but import restrictions on beef products from Canadian and Mexican cattle slaughtered in the US remain in place.