Businesses are being told to diversify and improve flexibility, given the uncertainty around US tariffs.
President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff for steel and aluminium imports into the US, and while Australia is pushing for an exemption, the federal government is yet to receive an update weeks after a leaders' level phone call.
It's set to come into effect on March 12.
Mr Trump has also announced reciprocal tariffs for nations that tax US products or impose "unfair, discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes" on American businesses and consumers.
The tariffs include value-added taxes, fuelling speculation Australia's goods and services tax could put it in the firing line but Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government hasn't been advised about any extra tariffs.
Whether Australia receives an exemption or not, the tariffs will still send shock waves through the international trading system, Business expert Professor Maggie Dong said.
Businesses needed to plan for the risks and disruptions to supply chains, she said.
"With the US and China already engaged in a global trade war, Australian companies must prepare for heightened trade tensions, increased uncertainty, and higher prices," Prof Dong said.
Short-term strategies include diversification, hedging, where a company offsets risks by investing in opposing positions, and flexible contracting to adjust terms and prices more quickly.
Businesses can also shift production closer to home to reduce US reliance, the professor said, pointing to Australia's location in the Indo-Pacific region.
"By deepening engagements with growing Asian economies, Australia can diversify export markets and leverage its regional influence for better trade deals," she said.
Mr Trump cited trade deficits as a reason for tariffs - while the US runs a trade surplus with Australia and its imports into Australia weren't taxed, Dr Chalmers said.
But January trade figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed the US swung from a $A1.7 billion trade surplus with Australia in December to a $A1.7 billion deficit in January as Australian exports of non-monetary gold surged 296 per cent.
AMP economist My Bui said the spike was likely related to US companies stockpiling ahead of threatened tariffs and will probably be short-lived.
"It's more of an interesting anecdote rather than a lasting trend," she told AAP.
It's not unusual for the monthly figure to bounce around and the US is likely to regain its surplus over Australia once the surge in gold stockpiling unwinds, Ms Bui said.
Defence spending also remains a point of contention, with Mr Trump pushing allies to increase security budgets.
His pick for defence policy under secretary, Elbridge Colby, has called for Australia to increase defence spending to three per cent of gross domestic product, or output, in line with the level advocated by NATO.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed the level of Australia's defence spending.
Defence spending is about two per cent, and is set to rise to just above 2.3 per cent by the end of the decade with increased expenditure.
"My government is allocating significant additional resources for defence that is being rolled out, including missiles, including a range of assets that improve both our capability, but also importantly, our delivery," he told reporters in Canberra.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said he pointed to Australia making "a historic increase in our defence spending" when he spoke with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth.
The opposition has called for more to be spent, with finance spokeswoman Jane Hume flagging a potential rise to three per cent.
"We expect we will meet our international obligations and if taking defence spending up to a much higher proportion of GDP is the expectation ... that's where we need to go," she told Melbourne radio 3AW on Wednesday.
