US Tariffs: Why Donald Trump came after Australia’s antarctic penguins
Anthony Albanese has unleashed on Donald Trump over his “unwarranted” tariff war, as it’s revealed the US targeted an uninhabited Aussie territory.
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US President Donald Trump hit friends and foes with tariffs on Liberation Day, but nobody expected him to come after Australia’s penguins.
News.com.au has confirmed the United States will be hitting Heard Island and the McDonald Islands with the tariff stick.
One of the most remote places on Earth, the Australian external territory comprises a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic Islands.
And there’s at least one big problem with hitting the Heard Islands hard on the tariff front: humans don’t live there.
The only sentient beings able to pay tariffs if indeed they had a form of currency or indeed any industry to produce things for trade, are penguins, seals and certain species of flying birds.
Heard Island and the McDonald Islands (HIMI) are free from introduced predators and provide crucial breeding habitats in the middle of the Southern Ocean for many species of seabirds.
The islands contain Australia’s only two active volcanoes and are among the most remote places on Earth:
They are located about 4,100 kilometres (2,200 nautical miles) southwest of Perth. You can only get there by sea, which from Australia takes two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs of nearly 30 percent on Norfolk Island has left Australia baffled.
“I’m not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States,” Mr Albanese said.
“But that just shows and exemplifies the fact that nowhere on Earth is exempt from this.
Aussie products to be smashed by tariffs
Mr Trump this morning slapped new tariffs on Australia “effective immediately” in a move that is set to send the price of his beloved McDonald’s cheeseburger soaring.
Senior government sources have confirmed they are now expecting a 10 per cent tariff on all Australian exports.
However, Mr Trump has signalled tougher barriers for Aussie beef without providing specific details.
“We are expecting 10 per cent across the board unless the executive orders say otherwise,” a government source said.
Meat is Australia’s largest export to the US, accounting for roughly USD$4 billion in 2024. Precious stones and metals drew in $2 billion last year with pharmaceutical products ($1.4b), optical and medical apparatus ($1.2b) and heavy machinery ($1b) all key exports too.
‘Race to the bottom’
Australia has slammed US President Donald Trump’s tariff war as unwarranted, illogical and “not the act of a friend” warning our tough biosecurity protections for beef will remain.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed that Australia imposed no tariffs on US imports suggesting the correct tariff to apply was “zero.”
Speaking in Melbourne, Mr Albanese also urged for some “perspective” about the modest size of Australia’s exports to the United States.
“The unilateral action that the Trump Administration has taken today against every nation in the world does not come as a surprise,’’ he said.
“For Australia, these tariffs are not unexpected, but let me be clear - they are totally unwarranted.
“President Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be zero, not 10%.
“The administration’s tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nation’s partnership.
“This is not the act of a friend.”
Mr Albanese said Australia would not act to impose reciprocal tariffs in response.
“Today’s decision will add to uncertainty in the global economy and it will push up costs for American households,’’ he said.
“It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs. This is why our Government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs.
“We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth. We will stand up for Australia.”
However, he warned the decision would damage the relationship.
“The Australian people have every right to view this action by the Trump Administration as undermining our free and fair trading relationship and shared values that have always been at the heart of our two nations’ longstanding friendship,’’ he said.
“This will have consequences for how Australians see this relationship.
“These are uncertain times, but Australians can be absolutely certain of this: Our Government will always stand up for Australian jobs, Australian industry, Australian consumers, and Australian values.”
Mr Albanese suggested Australia was prepared to tough it out and would not be bending to every American demand.
“That is why we have been crystal-clear with the United States about what is not up for negotiation.’’ he said.
“The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is an Australian institution. A proud Labor creation that my government has built on. The investments we’re making in the PBS mean that life-saving and life-changing medicines which would otherwise cost people thousands of dollars will be no more than $25 a script.
“Under Labor - that will never be up for negotiation. We don’t want our health system to be more American, we only want it to be more Australian. The same is true for agriculture.
“We have made it very clear to the United States that we will not compromise on biosecurity.
“We will not weaken the measures that protect our farmers and producers from the risks of disease or contamination.
“Another key point was technology. Our Government stands by our media bargaining code. We strongly support local content in streaming services so Australian stories stay on Australian screens.
“And we have no intention of repealing the world-leading legislation that we passed with overwhelming support that set the minimum age for social media at 16. That policy is about what’s best for Australian children and Australian parents. These are our priorities. We stand up for Australia’s interests.”
Aussie beef in the firing line
Beef is at the top of the US hit list for new tariffs, despite the fact Australia has previously warned it could drive up the price of a cheeseburger in the United States.
“The significance, of course, to the US about our beef exports is that most of it goes into McDonald’s hamburgers,” Trade Minister Don Farrell said.
“If you push up the price of those beef exports by 25 per cent or 10 per cent or whatever the figure is, then you push up the price of hamburgers.”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he added.
Under the current rules, Australian exporters can export 448,214 tonnes of beef to the US at a zero tariff rate.
Last year, Australian beef exports to the US surged to 353,000 tonnes.
Beef barriers
The US complaints against Australia include the fact Australia requires completion of a complex approval process before it will permit the importation of bovine products from a country that has reported any cases of Mad Cow disease.
“Australia’s market remains closed to fresh US beef and beef products,’’ the US report states.
“The United States and Australia held a series of technical discussions to address outstanding differences, and the United States continues to seek full market access for fresh US beef and beef products.”
Pork and poultry
Pork and pork products are the third-leading US agricultural export to Australia, valued at approximately $233.5 million in 2023.
“However, due to Australia’s stated concerns about porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), Australia does not permit imports of fresh/chilled pork and bone-in products from the United States,’’ the US report states.
Australia also prohibits imports of uncooked poultry meat from all countries except New Zealand.
“While cooked poultry meat products may be imported, current import requirements (as set out in an import risk analysis) mandate that imported poultry meat products be cooked to a minimum core temperature of 74 degrees Celsius for 165 minutes or the equivalent,’’ the US said.
“This cooking temperature is not suitable for prepared deli meats, resulting in a significant barrier for cooked poultry products that would be suitable for sale in restaurants or delicatessens.
“The United States has identified this issue as a high priority and will continue to work with Australia to gain meaningful commercial market access for cooked poultry meat.”
Apples and pears
Australia prohibits the importation of apples and pears from the United States based on concerns regarding several pests.
“Australia currently prohibits the importation of pears from the United States due to the bacterial disease fire blight,’’ the US report states.
“Australia is concerned that the disease could be transmitted to its domestic apple and pear crops.”
Audiovisual Services
Australia is considering imposing Australian screen content requirements on streaming video services as part of its National Cultural Policy.
“The United States will continue to monitor this issue to ensure Australia’s compliance,’’ the report states.
Peter Dutton on the attack
Peter Dutton has accused the Prime Minister of “flapping in the breeze” as he vowed to take on Mr Trump if elected.
Mr Dutton took aim at Mr Albanese less than 24 hours after declaring he was on a unity ticket with the PM on arguing for tariff exemptions.
“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,” Mr Dutton told Sky News.
“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.”
Trump ushers in ‘Golden Age’
Speaking in the Rose Garden this morning, Mr Trump said the tariffs would usher in a new “Golden Age” in America.
But in a worrying sign for Australia he has held up a hit list of countries that have trade barriers that includes a chapter on Australia raising complaints about barriers to beef, chicken and pork imports on biosecurity grounds.
“For decades, the United States slashed trade barriers on other countries, while those nations placed massive tariffs on our products and created outrageous non monetary barriers to decimate our industries,’’ Mr Trump said.
“They manipulated their currency, subsidized their exports, stole our intellectual property, imposed exorbitant VAT taxes to disadvantage our products, adopted unfair rules and technical standards and created filthy pollution havens.”
Mr Trump said his Liberation Day and his tariff plan would be remembered in history.
“April 2 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,’’ he said.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.
“American steel workers, auto workers, farmers and skilled craftsmen. We have a lot of them here with us today. They really suffered gravely.
“They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs.
“Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream.
“Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years. But it is not going to happen anymore. It’s not going to happen.
“I in a few moments, I will sign a historic Executive Order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world. Reciprocal.
“That means they do it to us and we do it to them. Very simple.”
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt had predicted it will be “one of the most important days in modern American history”.
“The days of America being ripped off are over,” she said.
Overnight, there were reports that the tariff rates President Donald Trump will reveal are a “ceiling.”
It’s then up to individual countries to try and negotiate downward, his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in private remarks to members of US Congress.
That suggests the Trump administration views the tariffs as a negotiating tactic to pressure other countries to lower their own duties on US imports.
China, South Korea and Japan have indicated they would jointly respond to US tariffs, according to Chinese state media.
In the UK, the British Chancellor warned countries would not be “out of the woods” on tariffs even if it could secure a carve out with the United States.
Rachel Reeves told the Commons Treasury committee that the main impact on the British economy would be from global tariffs was that they were likely to depress demand in the US and contribute to higher inflation in other countries.
“I think that’s really important to understand, because even if we are able to secure an economic deal with the United States — which we very much want to secure and are working hard to secure that — even if that’s possible, [it] doesn’t mean somehow that we are out of the woods and not impacted by tariffs,” she said.
Originally published as US Tariffs: Why Donald Trump came after Australia’s antarctic penguins
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