The Albanese authorities is about to mount a serious effort to win an exemption from a proposed 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports to the US foreshadowed by President Donald Trump.
Assuming Trump follows by on the transfer, it’s going to put main stress on the prime minister to match the success of the Turnbull authorities in 2018 when Trump put a 25% tariff on metal and a ten% tariff on aluminium in his first administration.
Talking to reporters travelling on Air Drive One, Trump flagged he would make the tariff announcement on Monday (Washington time). He stated the tariffs would begin “nearly immedciately” on all overseas metal and aluminium imports.
The Australian authorities on Monday was scrambling to place collectively its response, though authorities sources insisted it was not shocked and was nicely ready.
Cupboard met on Monday morning the place the Trump feedback have been presumably mentioned.
Commerce Minister Don Farrell stated on Monday:
We have now constantly made the case without cost and honest commerce, together with entry into the US marketplace for Australian metal and aluminium.
Our bilateral financial relationship is mutually useful – Australian metal and aluminium is creating 1000’s of excellent paying American jobs, and are key for our shared defence pursuits too.
Sources stated the federal government had been making representations on metal and aluminium for months.
Final week, Farrell stated he was searching for talks with incoming US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, however that must wait till he was confirmed.
Within the lobbying for particular therapy, the federal government will stress that the US has a commerce surplus with Australia.
In 2023-24, the US imported about 240,000 tonnes of metal merchandise from Australia, valued at US$250 million (A$400 million).
US imports of Australian aluminium peaked in 2019 at about 270,000 tonnes and declined to round 83,000 in 2024. The three-year common imports from Australia have been 167,000 tonnes per 12 months, valued at US$496 million (A$791 million).
Nationals chief David Littleproud stated the difficulty was a check for Anthony Albanese and Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.
Littleproud said:
Once you make disparaging feedback about leaders in different elements of the world typically it comes again to chew you.
And sadly it may very well be the Australian economic system that will get the chew.
It is a check to see whether or not Anthony Albanese’s earlier remarks and Kevin Rudd’s earlier remarks about President Trump has achieved this nation hurt.
Littleproud stated if Rudd was “not the proper particular person to have these discussions, then we must be mature sufficient as a rustic to ship somebody who can have these discussions to get that carveout”.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has simply returned from Washington.
At a information convention there, he was requested whether or not Australia was involved about direct reciprocal tariffs or a flow-on impact from them.
Marles stated:
We clearly are participating with the US in respect of our bilateral relationship in respect to tariffs.
We’ll clearly press Australia’s curiosity in our case in respect of that. However none of it is a shock. We all know what President Trump’s platform was as he went into the American election.
He’s been very clear about his coverage course. And so I feel all of us perceive that’s going to see modifications in American coverage in relation to this. From an Australian standpoint, we are going to proceed to press the Australian case across the query of commerce.
