Nationals say Liberals oppose EU trade deal, Liberals beg to differ

Nationals leader Matt Canavan's claim that both Nationals and Liberals are against a slated European Union trade deal has angered some Liberals who privately insist the issue has not been settled.

In an opinion piece published in The Australian today, Senator Canavan said the deal landed by Trade Minister Don Farrell would "weaken Australia's sovereignty on climate change policy" and was bad for the steel industry and some farmers.

He said the deal, which parliament must approve, was opposed by both Coalition parties. That assertion was backed by his colleague, Bridget McKenzie.

"Don Farrell can try all he likes to find a Coalition senator willing to vote for it. He won't because we are absolutely united," she told ABC Radio National today.

But two Liberal senators subsequently told the ABC the proposed deal was better than the status quo and should be adopted. One cited the diplomatic importance of the deal at a time when the US was waging trade wars.

"As long as it's not a really bad free trade agreement, and I don't think it is, we should support it," the senator said. "It goes to what the Liberal Party stands for.

"There is a lot of internal disquiet about this."

'Opposed … subject to proper process'

Multiple senior Liberals told the ABC the matter had not been considered by shadow cabinet or discussed in the Coalition party room, and that could only happen after scrutiny by the parliament's joint standing committee on trade.

"You can't short-circuit that by [writing] an op-ed," one said, framing Senator Canavan's intervention as a clear attempt to strongarm Liberals, reigniting tensions between the parties that plagued the leadership of Angus Taylor's predecessor, Sussan Ley.

The joint standing committee process is still some time away. While the deal's text was agreed between leaders this year, it will not be signed until Australia and each EU member country complete the requisite legal checks, most likely early next year.

Some Liberals believe this leaves time to renegotiate aspects of the deal. Two Liberals seeking to downplay any disagreement said the agreed position was "opposed to the deal as it stands, subject to the proper parliamentary and Coalition process".

Senator Canavan used more cautious language in a press conference today, saying the opposition was "opposed to the deal in its current form".

Farrell says veto would be 'vandalism'

The government has rubbished the idea that renegotiation would be possible. 

"There is no room … the deal is done," Senator Farrell said today.

The minister has projected confidence that the Senate, where the government does not have the numbers in its own right, will not stand in the way of the deal, telling the ABC on Wednesday he believed "enough senators … understand how important this is".

One interpretation of that comment is that Senator Farrell believes enough Liberals might cross the floor to vote for the deal, although none of those who spoke to the ABC suggested they would.

Another is that Senator Farrell is confident that the Coalition – or at least the Liberals – will eventually land in favour of the deal, a view shared among some European diplomats, who have directly lobbied Mr Taylor and other Liberals in recent weeks.

One diplomat from an EU nation told the ABC it would be "very damaging" if Australia did not ratify the deal and echoed Senator Farrell's comments: "There is no appetite [in Europe] to revisit this … the deal is done."

The deal broadens access to the European market for Australian beef and sheep meat exporters, although not by as much as those industries had hoped. It also secures access for Australian fruit, vegetable and seafood.

"There's a binary position: vote for a top-shelf, top-quality EU-Australia free trade agreement … or vote against it," Industry and Innovation Positions Minister Tim Ayres said today.

"It's a test of [the Coalition's] economic credibility."

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports the deal. Chief executive Andrew McKellar told the Insiders: On Background podcast it was not "perfect" but was in the national interest.

"From a business point of view, we are strongly supporting the fact that it should be ratified and passed into legislation in the Australian parliament," he said.

"If we lose that opportunity now, it's gone forever and, honestly, that would be very short-sighted."