Anthony Albanese rules out retaliatory action against the US

Anthony Albanese has savaged Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium exports as ‘unjustified’ and ‘not a friendly act’.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

Anthony Albanese has savaged Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium exports as “unjustified” and “not a friendly act”, but ruled out retaliatory action against the US.

The White House confirmed this morning that Australia and other countries would not be granted an exemption from the 25 per cent tariffs, which came into force on Wednesday afternoon (AEDT).

The Prime Minister said: “Such a decision by the Trump administration is entirely unjustified.

“This is against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship, and fundamentally at odds with the benefits that our economic partnership has delivered over more than 70 years.

“Australia has no tariffs on goods from the United States, and of course, we have a free trade agreement with the United States.”

Mr Albanese said tariffs were “an act of economic self harm”, so Australia would not impose retaliatory duties on US imports.

“Such a course of action would only push up prices for Australian consumers and increase inflation,” he said.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley attacked the government’s failure to secure a carve-out, saying it “just hasn’t done enough”.

“All of the other leaders of the Quad and AUKUS, Japan, India, the UK, travelled to the US and they had face-to-face meetings and they did what they needed to do. They advocated fiercely in their country’s interests. Where has this Prime Minister been?” he said.

But, despite his own decision not to fly to the US to plead Australia’s case, Mr Albanese said Australia had “mobilised everything at our disposal” to try and avert the tariff hit.

He said he had requested another phone call with Mr Trump but he had no plans to fly to Washington.

“I’ll be sorting out Australia’s interests right here,” Mr Albanese said.

He noted no other country had secured an exemption from the tariffs.

“This is not a friendly act, but it is imposed on every country. That is important,” Mr Albanese said.

He flagged a funding boost in the March 25 budget for the Buy Australian campaign, and said the government would intensify efforts to diversity the nation’s export markets.

Mr Trump had previously said he would consider exemptions for Australia over the 25 per cent tariffs after a February phone call with Mr Albanese.

However White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Australian media outlets on Wednesday (AEDT): “He considered it, and considered against it. There will be no exemptions.”

A subsequent White House statement said a “25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium with no exceptions or exemptions will go into effect for Canada and all of our other trading partners at midnight, March 12th”.

The Australian sharemarket plunged on the tariff news, with the ASX 200 down 1.5 per cent lower at noon.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed 0.8 per cent lower, the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index finished down 0.2 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.2 per cent.

The tariff decision came despite talks on the issue between Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last Friday.

Mr Albanese defended Dr Rudd’s efforts, saying “Kevin Rudd is a very effective ambassador”.

US President Donald Trump remains defiant about implementing his tariffs. Picture: AFP

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black urged a measured response to the tariffs announcement.

“Australia should adopt a cool-headed response to this news and keep making the case for our interests through continued extensive engagement with the US Administration,“ he said.

“It’s important to remember that it took eight months for the Australian Government to secure tariff exemptions under the last Trump administration — what this tells us is that these discussions are complex and that patience and persistence are key.“

Mr Black warned of bumpy economic conditions to come as Mr Trump’s trade policies unfolded.

“My primary concern is with the broader trade picture and the risk that lies ahead for our economy if a global contest of reciprocal tariffs were to escalate,“ he said.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the US call was “bad for our relationship”. Picture: ABC

Mr Albanese said the government would not give up its hopes of an exemption from the tariffs.

“We will continue to engage constructively with the United States and to make the case for Australian trade and the benefits that it gives to people in the United States of America,” he said.

“Around the world and here at home our government will always stand up for Australian jobs and Australian industries.”

He noted it took the former Turnbull government nine months to negotiate an exemption to Mr Trump’s first term tariffs.

But opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said the government should have been able to fend off the tariff hit.

“The US enjoys a substantial trade surplus with Australia, and we are investing heavily in US defence industry through AUKUS. This has only served to reiterate what a weak leader our Prime Minister is,” he said.

Sussan Ley says Mr Albanese should be having a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump. Picture: Martin Ollman