Tariff letter another US let-down

Nothing illustrates the uncomfortable state of US-Australia relations more than the prospect that Donald Trump may or may not send a letter to signal what the unfair trade imposts against us will be. Anthony Albanese said he thinks a letter is on the way and is resigned to the fact we will be hit with a blanket 10 per cent tariff.

The word from Washington is there will be no letter, just the tariff. No letter and no courtesy phone call demonstrate an indifference we do not deserve. Mr Trump appears to have decided trade deals are cumbersome and “I’d rather just do a simple deal where you can maintain it and control it”.

The Prime Minister clearly is frustrated by how events have turned out with the US. While it is true that Mr Trump has been understandably distracted by other world events, the Middle East in particular, the federal government must reflect on its own actions.

This includes a reluctance to increase defence spending but also the extent to which the Albanese government has been at pains to put itself at odds with the position of Washington on global affairs. On Israel, in particular, we have favoured the positions of the UN over the US in a way that breeds mistrust, not only with the Middle East’s sole democracy but also the US foreign policy establishment.

As former prime minister John Howard tells Greg Sheridan on Saturday, Mr Albanese has comprehensively mishandled the US relationship since Mr Trump returned to the presidency. “There is really no substitute for the Prime Minister going to see the President in Washington,” Mr Howard says.

Certainly there are political risks and reasons Mr Albanese may be cautious. Mr Trump is not the easiest of allies; the shambles of his tariff policy makes that plain, as does the review of the AUKUS defence pact.

As a lifelong factional warrior from Labor’s Left, Mr Albanese will be acutely aware of AUKUS’s unpopularity among ALP and Greens voters who dislike the US on general principle and believe China is no threat.

But no other Labor Party prime minister has ever enjoyed the mandate Mr Albanese won at the May 3 election and he must now stand up for the national interest. And that means speaking up for the US alliance in a way that shores up support in the White House and, just as important, congress – where AUKUS could be undone.

Just days after winning the 2022 election, Mr Albanese seized the opportunity to meet president Joe Biden in Tokyo. It was less courteous than comradely, a meeting of leaders who liked each other’s politics. He must now do the same with Mr Trump, difficult though that may be – our national interest demands it.