Australian tariffs exemption ‘under consideration’ after ‘positive’ call between PM and Trump

The Australian prime minister says that an exemption for his country’s steel and aluminium to US trade tariffs is “under consideration” by Donald Trump, after a call between the two leaders on Tuesday morning.

But minutes later, the White House announced the president was signing executive orders to place a 25% tariff on the imports, stepping up a long-promised trade war, without exemptions.

“Today I’m simplifying our tariffs on steel and aluminum,” Trump said in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders. “It’s 25% without exceptions or exemptions.”

Anthony Albanese said his second call with the US president was a “very positive and constructive discussion”, which canvassed the Aukus defence pact, critical minerals and foreign investment between the two countries.

Albanese said he also made the case for Australia to be exempted from tariffs of 25%, and that he was hopeful an exemption would be secured.

“If you have a look at what we’ve achieved already, it’s been a tremendous start to the relationship,” Albanese told a press conference in Parliament House.

It came after prominent US congressman Joe Courtney claimed it would be an “insult” to Canberra if Trump leveled tariffs against Australian goods.

Australian politicians were rocked yesterday when Trump told reporters in the US that he planned to announce new tariffs on all steel and aluminium arriving in America.

The Labor government been bracing for such a decision, after Trump had levelled similar tariffs in his first term in 2017, with senior ministers and officials working behind the scenes for some time to secure tariff exemptions like those secured by the then-Coalition government.

“Our aluminium is a critical input for manufacturing in the United States. Our steel and aluminium are both key inputs for the US-Australia defence industries in both of our countries,” Albanese said on Tuesday after his call with Trump.

“I presented Australia’s case for an exemption, and we agreed on wording to say publicly, which is that the US President agreed that an exemption was under consideration in the interests of both of our countries.”

Albanese would not reveal more about the process by which the exemption would be considered, the timeline by which a decision would be reached, or what Australia would do if the exemption was ultimately rejected. He said he would not speak for Trump, but again referred warmly to the Australia-US relationship.

“What I envisage is continuing to act to respond diplomatically. That’s how you get things done. My government’s got a record of getting things done in Australia’s national interest. I’ll continue to do so,” Albanese said.

“I said to President Trump that this was an issue of some media coverage in Australia, and that we therefore agreed on the words that would be used, that it was ‘under consideration’. That’s what I’ll stick to.”

It comes as a US congressman hit out at any attempt to slap tariffs on Australian products.

Courtney, a Democratic politician and co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, noted Australia had just this week begun sending payments to Washington as part of the Aukus pact to help bolster America’s submarine construction program.

“What we’re seeing is a completely needless, almost insult to the people of Australia by raising tariffs of Australian products coming into this country,” Courtney said.

Shadow trade minister Kevin Hogan suggested the government should “reach out to whoever may help” Australia secure tariff exemptions, including former Coalition politicians Scott Morrison and Joe Hockey, who enjoyed working relationships with Trump when in office.

“I encourage the Prime Minister and indeed ambassador [Kevin] Rudd to talk to people like Morrison, people like Hockey, we had a precedent when we got an exemption, they should be using those resources,” he told the ABC.

Resources minister Madeleine King said it would be “good for all sides of Parliament to work together in relation to our relationship with the US and I’ve no doubt that will continue.”