Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Richard Dawkins: Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chair on the expected US investigation into lamb imports

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Richard Dawkins: Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chair on the expected US investigation into lamb imports · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Todd McLay reckins. In the next couple of weeks, Trump
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  Speaker 1: will come for our lamb exports and the Aussies too,
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  Speaker 1: looks like they're going to launch an investigation. He's spoken
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  Speaker 1: to us about this before into whether they threatened local
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  Speaker 1: producers our exports. By the way, Lamb to the US
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  Speaker 1: with six hundred million last year. Richard Dawkins fed farmers
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  Speaker 1: Meat and woelchair with me. Richard, Good morning, Richard, you're there.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning, good morning.
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  Speaker 1: Very well, thank you. The timing of this obviously coming
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  Speaker 1: off the back of the failed the court ruling on
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  Speaker 1: the tariffs, and we're still paying a tariff on what
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  Speaker 1: we're exporting. But how significant is our export to the US.
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  Speaker 1: How damaging would it be if they threaten it.
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  Speaker 2: Look, the US is a significant trading partner, especially for
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  Speaker 2: sheep meat, but overall last year they took thirteen percent
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  Speaker 2: of our total exports, so an important relationship that companies
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  Speaker 2: like Silversans farms. Look, day exports are around sixty countries,
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  Speaker 2: so the industry does have the ability to pivot. This
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  Speaker 2: need be.
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  Speaker 1: It's the local producers that are pushing this, isn't it
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  Speaker 1: the Republicans there were thirty six Republican members of Congress
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  Speaker 1: signed led US to Trump officials they wanted this probe.
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  Speaker 1: They also have introduced a bill proposing a thirty percent
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  Speaker 1: tariff on all lamb and sheep products imported from New
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  Speaker 1: Zealand and Australia.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, and I can gather the American sheep
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  Speaker 2: industry have certainly been pushing for it as well, which yeah,
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  Speaker 2: is very protectionists. It is a wee bit frustrating Ryan
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  Speaker 2: and that we produce high quality product and it's quite
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  Speaker 2: complementary to their production season. It really enhances their market
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  Speaker 2: and it allows the American consumer to get a taste
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  Speaker 2: for lamb, which has beneficial flow on effects for the
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  Speaker 2: American producers as well.
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  Speaker 1: I've had a look at the part of the section
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  Speaker 1: of law Section two one and two or two of
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  Speaker 1: the US Trade Act. Basically they can impose tariffs if
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  Speaker 1: this investigation finds that it is causing or threatening to
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  Speaker 1: cause injury to their domestic industry.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you would hope the findings of that would
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  Speaker 2: show the actual complementary nature of this trade. But I
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  Speaker 2: would just say for sheep farmers on the ground in
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  Speaker 2: New Zealand, I mean we can't control this. We have
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  Speaker 2: to focus on what we can control, and the industry
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  Speaker 2: is in a really good space at the moment, strong
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  Speaker 2: returns across the board, a pretty favorable climate as well,
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  Speaker 2: so we'll focus on that and like I said, we
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  Speaker 2: can pivot to other markets if required, but I don't
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  Speaker 2: think it would get to that point.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: All right, Good to know. Richard Dawkins, Fed Farmers Meet
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: and Wildshair Good Tavy on the show this morning. For
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to
• 2:43
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