Donald Trump has praised Australia’s prime minister as a “very fine man” and stated he would give “great consideration” to exempting the country from his newly announced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. This statement followed a phone call between the two leaders.
Trump’s remarks came after he had previously declared there would be no exceptions or exemptions from the tariffs, which are set to take effect on March 12 unless Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secures an exemption.
The official proclamation imposing the aluminium tariff suggested that Australia was not initially exempted because the US believed Australia had broken a “verbal commitment” to limit aluminium exports.
The proclamation stated: “The volume of U.S. imports of primary aluminum from Australia has also surged and in 2024 was approximately 103% higher than the average volume for 2015 through 2017. Australia has disregarded its verbal commitment to voluntarily restrain its aluminum exports to a reasonable level.”
During Trump’s first term, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had successfully negotiated an exemption from steel and aluminium tariffs.
On Tuesday night, when asked about the proclamation, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles told ABC’s 7.30:
“I can’t speak for the former government, in terms of what it did or didn’t do … but in the discussion that was had today, in the president’s own press conference, having signed the executive order, he made clear that Australian exemptions to this order would be under active consideration. And that’s where this is now at.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Albanese described his second call with Trump as a “very positive and constructive discussion” that covered topics including the AUKUS defence pact, critical minerals, and foreign investment between the two countries.
Albanese also said he had made the case for Australia to be exempted from the tariffs and remained hopeful about achieving that outcome.
“If you have a look at what we’ve achieved already, it’s been a tremendous start to the relationship,” Albanese said during a press conference at Parliament House.
However, just minutes later, the White House announced that Trump was signing executive orders to impose the 25% tariffs, escalating a long-anticipated trade war.
Initially, Trump had insisted the tariffs would be imposed with no exceptions. But after his conversation with Albanese, he confirmed he was giving “great consideration” to an Australian exemption.
Speaking about his call with Albanese, Trump said: “We have a surplus with Australia, one of the few … I told him that [exemptions] is something we will give great consideration.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also urged the Trump administration to exempt Australia from the tariffs, warning that failing to do so would “damage the relationship” between the two nations.
Donald Trump (Photo: AP)
“Tariffs are not warranted against Australia because we have a trade surplus,” Dutton stated.
Australian politicians were caught off guard on Monday when Trump informed reporters in the US of his plans to impose new tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports.
The Labor government had been preparing for such a decision, given Trump’s history of imposing similar tariffs during his first term. Senior ministers and officials had been working behind the scenes to secure exemptions, as the former Coalition government did after months of negotiations in 2018.
Albanese reiterated Australia’s strategic importance to US manufacturing, saying on Tuesday after his call with Trump: “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.”
He also confirmed that he had presented Australia’s case for an exemption and had agreed with Trump on a public statement: “The US president agreed that an exemption was under consideration in the interests of both of our countries.”
However, Albanese declined to provide details on the exemption process, the timeline for a decision, or how Australia would respond if the exemption were denied. While avoiding speculation on Trump’s intentions, he reaffirmed the strength of the Australia-US relationship.
“What I envisage is continuing to act to respond diplomatically,” he said. “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.”
Meanwhile, US Congressman Joe Courtney, a Democrat and co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, strongly criticized the idea of imposing tariffs on Australian products.
“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. He also pointed out that Australia had just begun making payments to Washington as part of the AUKUS agreement to support US submarine construction.
Shadow Trade Minister Kevin Hogan suggested the government should reach out to anyone who might help secure an exemption, including former Coalition politicians Scott Morrison and Joe Hockey.
“I encourage the prime minister and indeed ambassador [Kevin] Rudd to talk to people like Morrison, people like Hockey,” Hogan told the ABC. “We had a precedent when we got an exemption, they should be using those resources.”
