In response to US President Donald Trump’s March 12 application of tariffs on steel and aluminium, I said that Australia should apply the old maxim of “don’t get angry, don’t get even, get ahead”.

The challenge of applying such a disciplined response is even more formidable in the face of Trump’s huge so-called reciprocal tariffs, which have generated wild market gyrations, talk of global recession, and a new 10 per cent tax added to the cost of Australian goods entering the United States.