What Anthony Albanese needs to do to dodge Donald Trump’s tariffs

Anthony Albanese’s pitch to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs is simple: we are not ripping anyone off. The President appears to have listened, but the PM has not convinced him yet.

Anthony Albanese’s argument to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs boils down to this: the US sends Australia twice as many imports as we send to them, so we are not ripping anyone off.

While the Prime Minister is yet to win over the President, with Australian steel and aluminium swept up in his “no exceptions” executive order, his pitch appears to have stayed with Mr Trump, who has a revealing habit of repeating what people have told him about problems.

So it was shortly after his call with Mr Albanese, when Mr Trump was asked about their conversation by reporters in the Oval Office and replied: “We actually have a surplus. It’s one of the only countries which we do.”

Australian PM Anthony Albanese speaks to US President Donald Trump. Picture: X

The President went on to promise to give “great consideration” to the Prime Minister’s push for Australian steel and aluminium to be spared, as he did for Malcolm Turnbull in 2018.

All things considered, that is not a bad result for Mr Albanese, given how adamant Mr Trump is that these tariffs must be applied universally to “make America rich again”.

It was a helpful coincidence that their call – lasting almost 40 minutes – came on the very day the President decided to impose tariffs on metal imports to the US.

The question, however, is whether Mr Albanese could and should have been more proactive.

This was their first discussion since Mr Trump was sworn in three weeks ago, and indeed, it was their first call since a courtesy conversation after the Republican’s election victory.

US President Donald Trump has been busy bashing out executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House. Picture: AFP

Perhaps they have been swapping the odd text message, although Foreign Minister Penny Wong refused to shed any light on that when she was asked in Washington DC recently.

Other foreign leaders have been far more forceful in trying to connect with Mr Trump.

Australia, it must be said, is in a good position amid the maelstrom of his return to power.

Senator Wong was invited to the President’s inauguration and was the second foreign diplomat to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was the first defence minister to meet Mr Trump’s Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

AUKUS appears to have Mr Trump’s support, and so does the Quad partnership.

But Australia is not in the clear yet on tariffs. Mr Albanese must keep working the phones.

Originally published as What Anthony Albanese needs to do to dodge Donald Trump’s tariffs