Anthony Albanese’s diplomacy with Trump deserves praise. What happens next on AUKUS, critical minerals is a grim reality: Malcolm Turnbull

So of course Trump loves AUKUS; He is extremely transactional and loves too much. He would be more than happy to sell us submarines – he offered to sell them to me in 2017 – but neither he nor his successor will sell Australian submarines if the US Navy continues to be shortchanged.

China hawks in both Canberra and Washington will be stunned to hear Trump say AUKUS is not needed to deter China because relations with President Xi will be good and there will be nothing to threaten Taiwan. This helps Albanese as it confirms his efforts to stabilize relations with Beijing.

A journalist from the Murdoch stable once again asked Trump about Kevin Rudd’s old tweets criticizing Trump in colorful terms. Trump’s response struck me as sarcastic, not a wild rant at all.

Albanese was right to keep Rudd in Washington and bring him to the meeting. This showed strength of character and the only thing Trump respects is strength and power. Trump may not like Rudd, but today’s results, especially on rare earths and critical minerals, are testament to Rudd’s effectiveness. Bullshit and backslapping are fine, but the important thing is to deliver the goods.

It will be disappointing if there is no change to tariffs and Australia fails to provide some relief from high tariffs on steel and aluminium. A good outcome would be a quota arrangement that would exempt a certain amount of both metals, more or less along the lines of what the UK has achieved. This remains a work in progress.