Anthony Albanese accuses Donald Trump of “self-harming” US economy with tariffs
Anthony Albanese has accused Donald Trump of “self-harming” the US economy as a new wave of tariffs loom, while Peter Dutton has fired his own shots at the PM.
Australia now fears US President Donald Trump will slap new tariffs on all imports from overseas as a blame game erupts in the White House.
Australian government sources have confirmed that nobody knows exactly what the US president plans to do on April 2, when he unveils his plans for ‘Liberation Day’.
However, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom now fear that the tariffs imposed will be broad and wide-ranging.
Underlining the pessimism about exemptions, Anthony Albanese described the tariff move as an act of self-harm.
“The problem here is because if you put an increased tariff on every country, which is what they’ve done, then the competitive advantage doesn’t change at all,” the Prime Minister told 2Day FM.
“So there aren’t now any more steel makers in the United States than there were a month ago when these tariffs weren’t on. But the cost is more.
“So those people purchasing Colorbond – essentially – steel roofs, for their homes in California, are just paying more for it and it will increase the cost of housing in America.”
Mr Albanese said the sweeping tariffs did not make “much sense” but warned Mr Trump was “absolutely committed” to them.
“The whole world for a long time has been saying what we need to do is to have free and fair trade between countries. That’s how we lift everyone up.
“And President Trump has a different plan from the rest of the world. He’s entitled to do that, of course, but I think it will have a damaging impact on the American economy. Self-harming his own economy.”
‘Flapping in the breeze’: Dutton unloads on Albo
Peter Dutton has accused the Prime Minister of “flapping in the breeze” as he vowed to take on President Trump if elected.
Less than 24 hours after declaring he was on a unity ticket with Mr Albanese on arguing for tariff exemptions, Mr Dutton has slammed the PM.
“He can’t stand up to China at the moment, if I needed to have a fight with Donald Trump or any other world leader to advance our nation’s interests, I’d do it in a heartbeat and I’ll put the Americans on notice and anyone else who seeks to act against our national interests,” he told Sky News.
He also predicted the AUKUS submarine deal was not under threat despite the fact the US is planning to slap tariffs on allies.
“AUKUS will survive, there’s no doubt in my mind, because there are too many people in the Republican movement, in the Democratic party, across the aisle, in the House, in the Senate who strongly support AUKUS,” he said
“AUKUS isn’t just a one-way street, AUKUS is of mutual benefit to the US as much as it is to Australia.
“But I’m not going to allow the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, or anyone else, to walk over me or to walk over our country but at the moment they see a Prime Minister who is weak and flapping in the breeze, and that’s why Donald Trump has been able to stand all over Anthony Albanese now.
“I won’t stand for that, and the Prime Minister doesn’t have the capacity to stand up for our national interests or for our national security and the last three years have demonstrated that.”
‘Sh** show’: White House blame game erupts
Overnight, reports emerged that White House Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is in the firing line as a blame game erupts over the fallout.
Mr Lutnick was “a new voice at the table pushing crazy sh*t,” an offical told Politico.
“I don’t know anyone that isn’t pissed off at him.”
Another source suggested the US President wanted to force people to grovel.
“Each country needs to panic and call. … Trump wants to hear you grovel and say you’ll cut a deal.”
Mr Lutnick is a billionaire who accused Australia of flogging aluminium “dirt cheap” in an extraordinary on-air rant last month.
“Look, you’ve got dumpers in the rest of the world. Japan dumps steel. China dumps steel. What that means is, they make it, they overproduce and they sell it dirt cheap, to drive our guys out of business,” he said on Fox Business.
“The President is here to protect American workers. He’s here to protect American industry. We’re going to stop that nonsense and bring steel here.
Threat of 20 per cent tariffs looms
The Washington Post also underlined the threat of 20 per cent tariffs that would send shock waves through the stock market.
According to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moodys, the worst-case scenario was a global trade war contributing to unemployment at 7 per cent in the US and a recession.
“I’d brace for impact,” Mr Zandi said.
There are reports Mr Trump could use the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which grants the president broad powers to regulate international transactions.
Greg Mankiw, an economics professor at Harvard University and the author of a widely used economics textbook, said “the benefits of an open world trading system and the adverse effects of tariffs” are among the few subjects that enjoy an overwhelming consensus among economists.
“Trump doesn’t seem to understand basic international economics,” he said.
“A lot of the arguments he makes, Adam Smith was refuting two and a half centuries ago in ‘Wealth of Nations,’” he added. “I have not seen a more wrongheaded policy come out of a White House in decades.”
European Union threatens retaliation
The European Union meanwhile has warned it is open to negotiate looming trade tariffs but is willing to retaliate with strong countermeasures if required.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the bloc still hopes for a “negotiated solution” to looming tariffs, but that “all instruments are on the table” to hit back if necessary.
“Let me be clear, Europe did not start this confrontation. We think it is wrong, but my message to you today is that we have everything we need to protect our people and our prosperity,” she added.
The EU has already been hit by several US tariff announcements since Trump returned to office in January, including a 25-percent levy on car and car parts produced in Europe.
“Big and simple” 20 per cent tariff
US trade advisers have pitched a “big and simple” global tariff of 20 per cent to be imposed on virtually all imports, an option first flagged by the Wall Street Journal.
In simple terms, a tariff is a tax imposed by a government on goods imported from another country, to raise revenue, protect domestic industries, or influence trade.
By applying the tariff, goods from overseas will be more expensive for American consumers but the US will also raise revenue. The tariffs will not be imposed on Australia but exporters will pay an economic price.
Mr Trump has already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Australia’s steel and aluminium exports despite previously hinting at an exemption.
There are now fears that the tariff could be as high as 20 percent - although the US President insisted they would be “kinder” in interviews this week.
As the Prime Minister and officials brace for impact, he vowed to stand up for the national interest against a push to weaken biosecurity laws or the price of prescription medicine.
“We will defend Australia’s interests,’’ the Prime Minister said. “The idea that we would weaken biosecurity laws is really that, as my mum would say, cutting off your nose to spite your face.
“Not on my watch. Those discussions are ongoing. I want to see a constructive outcome, but what I won’t do is undermine our national interest.”
US President: “I’ve settled”
Mr Trump has indicated he had made his decision, but won’t reveal what it is amid fears Australian exporters could be hit hard.
“I’ve settled, yeah,” President Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday evening local time. The changes will be announced Thursday Australian time.
“The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades. They ripped us off like no country’s ever been ripped off in history,’’ the US President said.
President Trump plans big reveal
President Trump will unveil his tariff plan on Wednesday in his first Rose Garden press conference of his second term.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that the cabinet will be present for the event.
“Wednesday, it will be Liberation Day in America, as President Trump has so proudly dubbed it,” she said.
“The President will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades. He’s doing this in the best interest of the American worker.”
“It’s time for reciprocity, and it’s time for a president to take historic change, to do what’s right for the American people, and that’s going to take place on Wednesday.”
President Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday said he expected the United States could raise $600 billion a year from tariff revenue.
Dismissing fears that the tariff agenda will simply increase prices for Americans, the Trump administration insists it will create a new era of prosperity.
“We have the example from the first term. We know that we imposed historically high tariffs on China,’’ Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said.
“We imposed aluminium and steel tariffs. We imposed on washing machines, on solar, all we got out of that was prosperity and price stability.
“And the reason why we’re not going to see inflation is because the foreigners are going to eat most of it. They have to.”
Treasurer’s warning
Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned on Tuesday that whatever President Trump decides, that the Albanese Government will be standing up for Australia’s interests.
“We will continue to stand up for and speak up for Australia’s national interests when it comes to the PBS and when it comes to those elements of Australian policy architecture that are so important to us. Those policies are not up for negotiation,’’ he said.
“We stand up for Australia’s national interest. We want to strengthen the PBS, and we will strengthen the PBS because Australians need us to, not weaken the PBS because American multinationals would prefer us to.
But he also took a swing at Peter Dutton, suggesting he was taking inspiration from the US President.
Speaking in Melbourne, Mr Dutton backed the Prime Minister’s position and said the Coalition was on a unity ticket on the issue.
“I will stand up for our country’s interests every day if I’m given the great honour of being Prime Minister of this country,’’ he said.
“I am not going to compromise in relation to issues of national significance and importance to us. I will always make decisions which keep our country safe, and I will stand up for our interests and negotiate for the best possible outcome for Australia and I won’t compromise on any of that for our country.’
Mr Dutton has previously slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for “stuffing up” negotiations as fears emerge of an escalating tariff war and what it means for AUKUS.
“There are always issues that governments have to deal with, and this is the latest, but the Prime Minister has just found himself completely out of his depth and Australians will suffer as a result of it,’’ he said.
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