US president Donald Trump’s second presidency is proving even more disruptive than his first, Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said.
Ms Wong, however, said she remained hopeful that Australia could secure an exemption from upcoming US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Speaking at a business summit, she acknowledged the scale of change under Mr Trump’s administration but emphasised the strength of the US-Australia alliance despite some policy differences.
Ms Wong said since Mr Trump took over the White House, Australia has had to deal with a “very different American administration”.
“President Trump and his administration envisage a very different America in the world,” she said at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney.
“We saw that in the first Trump administration, but I think it's clear that the scale of change in this administration, the second term of the Trump administration is even more so.”
Ms Wong said Australia was still pushing for an exemption from the upcoming 25 per cent US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
“I wouldn’t concede that (we will not get a tariff exemption) … we are still, putting our case very clearly and our case, I think is a strong case,” she said.
“There will be areas where our position and the US position might differ. That’s always been the case. We have to navigate that sensibly. We have to remember the value of the alliance,” she added.
Last month it was reported that Donald Trump had agreed to consider exempting Australia from new US steel and aluminium tariffs after a phone call with prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Despite initially ruling out exemptions, Mr Trump acknowledged Australia’s trade surplus with the US and its importance as a security ally. “We have a surplus with Australia. One of the few. And the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes. They’re rather far away and they need lots of airplanes,” Mr Trump said at the time.
“I told him that that’s something that we’ll give great consideration to,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that Mr Albanese was a “very fine man”.
Mr Albanese called the discussion “constructive and warm”.
“We agreed on wording to say publicly which is that the US president agreed that an exemption was under consideration,” Mr Albanese told reporters.
Australia’s steel and aluminium exports support US defence interests, including shipbuilding under the Aukus pact. While no exemption has been granted yet, discussions between both governments continue.
Mr Albanese said he was confident in securing a deal with Mr Trump. “Given what we’ve already accomplished, it’s been a fantastic start to the relationship.”
Dr Valdimir Tyazhelnikov, an expert in international trade from the University of Sydney’s School of Economics, says of the impact of any tariffs on Australian industry: “The greatest risk for Australia is a potential global trade war, which could disrupt supply chains and weaken manufacturing activity across East and Southeast Asia. Given that Japan, Korea, and China are key export destinations for Australia, such disruptions could have significant negative economic consequences”.
Additional reporting by agencies.
