Anthony Albanese shrugs off tariff concerns on pre-election road trip blitz

The PM has been urged to meet with Donald Trump imminently after the US president-elect returns to the White House.

Anthony Albanese in Rockhampton on Tuesday.

Anthony Albanese has been urged to meet with Donald Trump imminently after the US president-elect returns to the White House, as the Prime Minister shrugs off suggestions Justin Trudeau’s demise could hold political lessons for him.

After the long-serving Canadian Prime Minister resigned following a caucus revolt in part ignited by the proposed tariffs, Mr Albanese said he had “made the case” to Mr Trump that Australia should not be subjected to trade barriers.

Security experts have urged Mr Albanese to meet with Mr Trump at an early opportunity to cement the close ties between Canberra and Washington, with one warning that recent events in Canada portrayed the “real risk” of failing to establish a working relationship.

On a pre-election road trip through regional Queensland, Mr Albanese declared on Tuesday that his conversation with Mr Trump had been “positive” and sidestepped questions on whether Mr Trudeau’s fate posed a cautionary tale for him.

“I have had a positive discussion with President Trump, the incoming President of the US as well as being the former president,” Mr Albanese said.

“We were very constructive. We spoke about Australia’s relationship with the US, when it comes to defence and national security, but also on the economy.

“The US has had a trade surplus with Australia since the Truman presidency and it is in the US’s interests for us to continue to implement the Free Trade Agreement which has the support on a bipartisan basis in the Australian parliament.”

Former Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos said Mr Albanese should meet with Mr Trump shortly after his inauguration.

“It’s early days to be making assumptions about how president Trump would implement his tariff commitments, whether they would be general or more selective and the extent to which they are a negotiating ploy,” he told The Australian.

“I’ve argued in the past it would be desirable for the Prime Minister to meet with the president at an early date because of the close relationship between the two countries.

“It would also give him a perspective on how America’s security is affected by developments in the Indo-Pacific, and the importance of the relationship with allies and partners like Australia in this regard.”

Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge said Mr Trudeau’s demise was a “nasty precedent for Mr Albanese to ponder”.

“It shows the real risk for Anthony Albanese if he can’t establish a working relationship with Donald Trump, because a bad relationship with Donald Trump has proven radioactive to Trudeau’s leadership,” he said.

“The obvious risk for Mr Albanese is that Trump sees him as weak and problematic, just like you did Trudeau, and the result is massive damage to the bilateral relationship and corrosive damage to Mr Albanese as a leader.”

The Australia Institute senior adviser Allan Behm said Australia’s relationship with the US was vitally important but ultimately different to Canada’s, advising Mr Albanese to meet with Mr Trump but not to look like he’s in a “mad rush to be the first person there”.