Canberra — Australia has rejected European Union proposals for a free trade agreement, and a deal is now unlikely to be reached for several years, Australian government ministers said Monday. “I came to Osaka with the intention to finalize a free trade agreement,” Farrell said in a statement. “We just weren’t able to see the EU increase its offer for things like beef, sheep, dairy, sugar enough for us to think that this deal was in Australia’s national interest,” he told ABC Radio. The EU signed a trade deal with New Zealand last year that lowered tariffs for EU exports including clothing, chemicals and cars, and allowed more New Zealand beef, lamb, butter and cheese into the EU. “It’s disappointing the Europeans weren’t willing to put something commercially meaningful on the table,” National Farmers’ Federation President David Jochinke said in a statement.

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Persons: Don Farrell, “, ” Farrell, ”, Murray Watt, —, Valdis Dombrovskis, Australia’s Watt, “ It’s, David Jochinke Organizations: Canberra, EU, Australian Trade, Australia, ABC Radio, New Zealand, National Farmers ’ Federation Locations: Australia, Europe, Osaka, New Zealand, Canada, South America, Zealand