Prime Minister labels US tariff threats on Australia unjustified
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said threats of new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration were “unfair” as he defended Australia’s response to slavery in the face of criticism from the US.
The comments come after Australia and 53 other countries were threatened with 12.5 per cent tariffs following an investigation by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, which found Australia “failed to implement and effectively enforce its forced labor import ban”.
“Any tariffs on Australian exports to the US are unfair, contrary to our free trade agreement, as well as the particulars put forward by trade representatives: Australia has robust, comprehensive and world-leading legislation on forced labor and modern slavery,” Albanese told ABC radio on Thursday morning.
“We continue to use every opportunity we have to argue that US tariffs imposed on Australia are unwarranted, and of course our view is that the tariffs are in fact a penalty for US consumers.”
Australia is currently subject to a 10 percent tariff from the United States; This is the lowest rate the Trump administration has imposed on foreign countries. Government sources said they were working to understand the application of the new 12.5 percent rate to this imprint, but believed it would replace the current rate.
Albanese emphasized that the US’s trade surplus with Australia was another reason why tariffs should not be imposed.
While much of the Prime Minister’s language almost mirrored that of Trade Minister Don Farrell on Wednesday night, Albanese continued to describe the two countries as having significant differences of views on global trade.
“There is an ideological disagreement in which the United States administration is overturning the decades-old understanding that tariffs are not positive for the country that imposes them.”
“These increase the cost of goods and services in the country that applies them to its consumers, and free trade is in the interest of the global economy. It’s in Australia’s interest. It’s also in the United States’ interest.”
Countries such as China, Vietnam, Japan, the United Kingdom and New Zealand were also affected by the same 12.5 percent tariff. investigation Similar language is used in dozens of countries.
A separate group of six economies – Canada, the European Union, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan – faced a lower 10 per cent tariff because the investigation found they were the only countries “that have not failed to impose a forced labor import ban.”
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Nick Newling is the federal politics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
