‘I doubt it’: Top Trump adviser talks down chance of tariff exemption

Donald Trump’s top economic adviser has downplayed the prospect of any exemptions to the US president’s steel and aluminium tariffs, as the Albanese government battles to secure a last-minute carve-out before the imposts come into force.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said he was ready to travel to Washington immediately if it would help secure an exemption before Trump’s Thursday deadline, but he acknowledged the government might have to continue lobbying for a special deal in the months ahead if its initial charm offensive failed.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, doubts any exemptions will be given.Credit: AP

The Coalition will accuse the government of a major foreign policy failure if it cannot secure an exemption to the steel and aluminium tariffs given the Turnbull government achieved one during Trump’s first term.

Kevin Hassett, chair of the White House National Economic Council, said the 25 per cent tariffs on imports of both metals, scheduled to kick in on March 12 (US time) were designed to boost US industries that were key for national defence.

Asked whether any exemptions were being considered, Hassett told reporters at the White House: “He [Trump] really doesn’t like the word ‘exemption’. If I walk in and offer an exemption, then I’ll probably get kicked out of the office. Maybe there’ll be some; we’ll see how it goes. I doubt it.”

Hassett added: “President Trump thinks it’s a national security matter that we have a strong, vibrant steel industry … and he wants the steel industry to be in the US.”

Farrell told this masthead: “We’ll do whatever we need to sort this issue out. We don’t want confrontation, we want discussion – just like with the Chinese.”

Flagging the possibility an exemption may be impossible to obtain before Thursday, Farrell said: “This is not the end of the road.

“We’re an action government and we don’t give up. We will keep the lines of communication open. You won’t get a result by throwing up your hands and having a tantrum.”

In early February he had said he was seeking talks with his counterpart, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, “as soon as is humanly possible”.

Farrell and Lutnick have not been able to arrange a meeting, although they have communicated since Lutnick’s confirmation.

Trump has proved volatile on tariff measures over the past week, granting a last-minute reprieve on an array of goods from Mexico and Canada for another month after a bad reaction from the US stock market.

Australian officials believe a decision will come down to the wire, given Trump has been focused on the tariffs on Canada and Mexico rather than Australia’s bid for a carve-out.

Trump pledged to give “great consideration” to an exemption for Australia after speaking with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese the day after the steel and aluminium tariffs were announced.

Asked whether he was seeking a meeting with Trump to press Australia’s case, Albanese said on Sunday that he had been solely focused on the response to ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said Australia faces “an even greater hill to climb” to secure an exemption than in 2018, a claim backed by Malcolm Turnbull and former ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos.

Trump argued steel and aluminium tariffs were “about protecting the soul of our country” in a speech to Congress last week, highlighting his commitment to reviving domestic US manufacturing.

John Kunkel, a trade policy expert at the United States Studies Centre, said an exemption looked “increasingly less likely” since Albanese’s promising phone call with Trump.

“It’s getting harder and harder to get special favours,” Kunkel said. “There is no evidence Trump has any advisers who want to make a decisive intervention on our behalf.”

Australia has continued to lobby for an exemption, including at a meeting between Hassett, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington late last month.

Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd also met with Lutnick for talks on Friday.

Lutnick correctly foreshadowed a compromise on the Mexico and Canada tariffs that had been due to start last week, giving the impression he possessed more influence with Trump at present than more stridently pro-tariff aides such as senior trade adviser Peter Navarro.

Australian officials have argued that the US has a long-running trade surplus with Australia, and that Australian steel and aluminium account for only a fraction of US imports.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman said in a speech last week: “We expect the Labor government to succeed in its effort to secure an exemption on US tariffs for steel and aluminium.

“After all, the Coalition secured the same exemptions back in 2018, and the arguments in favour of an exemption are even stronger today than they were in 2018.

“The US enjoys a substantial trade surplus with Australia, and we are investing heavily in US defence industry through AUKUS.”

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