Trade with the European Union

The majority voted against a motion introduced by West Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John (Greens), which meant it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Australia exported $20.5 billion of goods and $12.9 billion in services to the European Union in 2018-19,

(ii) last week the European Parliament voted in support of the introduction of a carbon border tax, and the European Commission will be presenting the details of their Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in June,

(iii) Australia's carbon price was set to link to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme in 2015 and, if that had remained in place, Australian exporters would not be subject to carbon tariffs, and

(iv) the repeal of the carbon price by the Liberal National Government has unnecessarily exposed Australian exporters to carbon tariffs, which will particularly impact the competitiveness of Australian goods; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to support Australian exporters and give them a competitive advantage by introducing science-based 2030 emissions reduction targets and reintroducing a price on carbon.