Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro blames Australia for crushing US aluminium industry
One of Donald Trump’s advisers has accused Australia of crushing America’s aluminium industry, threatening Anthony Albanese’s bid for an exemption from the President’s tariffs.
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Australia has been accused of crushing America’s aluminium industry by one of Donald Trump’s top trade advisers, heightening fears the President will reject Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plea for an exemption from his new tariffs.
A day after Mr Trump agreed to give “great consideration” to sparing Australian steel and aluminium from a 25 per cent tariff on imports, his senior counsellor for trade Peter Navarro suggested he would fight against a carve-out as he targeted Australia in a media blitz.
“Australia is crushing, just crushing – with the help of China – our aluminium sector,” he told Fox News, blaming a surge of imports to the US from Australia in recent years.
In a separate interview on CNN, Mr Navarro similarly attacked Australia for “killing our aluminium market”, blaming companies he said were partially owned by China.
“Our aluminium industry is on its back,” Mr Navarro said.
“It’s a 50 per cent capacity utilisation rate. In Australia, it’s 90 per cent. And we can’t afford not to have strong aluminium and steel industries.”
When Mr Trump imposed steel and aluminium tariffs during his first term in 2018, then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull negotiated an exemption for Australian exports to the US.
A year later, in response to an increase in Australian aluminium sold into the American market, Mr Navarro lobbied internally to impose tariffs on Australia.
Senior Counselor for Trade & Manufacturing Peter Navarro: "Our aluminum industry is on its back. It's a 50% capacity utilization rate; in Australia, it's 90%! We can't afford NOT to have strong aluminum and steel industries." pic.twitter.com/w7JXlR9eXm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 11, 2025
But the President decided against the move, having been swayed by officials at the Defence and State Departments who argued that it would alienate one of America’s closest allies.
The executive order Mr Trump signed on Monday (local time) to reimpose and expand metal tariffs – shortly after what Mr Albanese had hailed as a constructive call with the President – included no exemptions and specifically singled out Australia for criticism.
Echoing Mr Navarro’s attack, the order said the volume of Australia’s aluminium exports to the US last year “was approximately 103 per cent higher than the average volume for 2015 through 2017.”
“Australia has disregarded its verbal commitment to voluntarily restrain its aluminium exports to a reasonable level,” the order said.
Mr Navarro, in an opinion piece for Fox News on Tuesday (local time), accused America’s “putative allies” of “widespread tariff circumvention” under the Biden administration.
He again pointed out that “Australia has doubled its primary aluminium exports to the US.”
“To strengthen and reinvigorate our pillar steel and aluminium industries, President Trump has reinstated his across-the-board 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and raised the aluminium tariff from 10 per cent to 25 per cent while eliminating all country-specific exemptions and alternative agreements,” Mr Navarro said.
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