Anthony Albanese steels for Donald Trump’s tariff test

Anthony Albanese has vowed to personally seek a carve-out for Australia from Donald Trump’s looming 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US during their call today, in a critical pre-election test.

Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese are due to speak by Tuesday afternoon in a scheduled phone call.

Anthony Albanese has vowed to personally seek a carve-out for Australia from Donald Trump’s looming 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US, in a critical pre-election test for the Labor leader.

The US President flagged his latest push to reshape the global economic order while en route to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, declaring on Air Force One: “Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 per cent tariff. Aluminium too”.

The move sparked stock­market jitters, a temporary dip in the value of the dollar, and ­warnings of a potential flood of cheap Chinese steel into Australia.

The Prime Minister, who has spoken to Mr Trump just once since his election win last November, revealed on Monday he had a phone call scheduled with the President to discuss the tariff threat, amid fears of a hit to ­Australian jobs.

“I will always stand up for ­Australia’s national interests, and it is in Australia’s national interest to have free and fair trade,” Mr ­Albanese told parliament.

“We will navigate any ­differences which are there diplomatically, and we will continue to make the case to the United States for ­Australia to be given an exemption to any steel and aluminium tariffs.”

The Prime Minister’s office said the previously arranged call would take place by Tuesday afternoon AEDT. It was unclear whether it would occur ahead of a formal ­announcement by Mr Trump on his tariff plan, which is expected the same day.

Australia exported about $640m worth of steel and $440m worth of aluminium to the US last year. Australian steelmakers with US operations, including market leader BlueScope Steel, stand to benefit from the trade restrictions, but those without a US presence risk being shut out of the world’s largest economy.

US President Donald Trump visits the field before the start of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Australia’s aluminium sector was also bracing for fallout, with the tariff hit set to ripple through global markets.

Mr Albanese, who said in 2017 that Mr Trump “scares the shit out of me” during his first term, is under pressure to replicate the Turnbull government’s success in avoiding the US President’s first assault on steel and aluminium imports in 2018.

The Prime Minister will highlight Australia’s trade deficit with the US, the ­nations’ close strategic partnership, and the billions of dollars worth of investment in the US by Australian companies.

The opposition suggested Kevin Rudd, who once described Mr Trump as “the most destructive president in history”, might have to be replaced as Australia’s ambassador to the US to improve Australia’s chances of a tariffs exemption.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the government needed to consider Mr Rudd’s future and, if he was deemed to be ­ineffective, “then we should be mature enough as a country to send someone who can have those discussions to get that carve-out”.

Opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said Mr Albanese and Mr Rudd had a big job ahead, declaring: “I hope they are up to it.”

Mr Turnbull said it didn’t matter who Australia’s ambassador was, as securing a tariff exemption would ultimately be a “captain’s knock”.

“If you’re going to cut a deal with Trump, the person to do it has got to be the Australian prime minister,” the former ­Liberal prime minister told The Australian.

Mr Turnbull convinced Mr Trump in 2017 that exempting Australia from his steel and aluminium tariffs was a “fair and reciprocal” outcome given the US’s trade surplus with Australia and the tariff-free treatment of US ­exports to Australia.

Mr Turnbull urged Mr Albanese to argue Australia’s case without “sucking up” to the ­President.

“All you can do is stand up for Australia, play a straight bat and make your case,” he said.

But he said it was possible that even with the Prime Minister’s best efforts, Australia might be ­unable to avoid Mr Trump’s tariffs blitz.

“If Trump has decided to ­impose a steel tariff on everybody, full stop, no exemptions, then it may not be possible to win one, no matter how eloquent you are,” Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Albanese, who demanded Scott Morrison “pick up the phone” to China President Xi Jinping during Beijing’s Covid-era trade bans against Australia, has resisted calls since the US election to fly to Washington to meet Mr Trump.

He is not due to have face-to-face talks with the President until June’s Quad leaders’ meeting, but will have to win the upcoming ­federal election first.

The Prime Minister met Jakob Stausholm, chief executive of global iron ore and aluminium giant Rio Tinto, in his Canberra office on Monday morning as news of the tariff threat echoed through the government and the nation’s boardrooms.

Australia’s biggest companies and miners have been working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian agencies in Washington DC in ­recent months to present a united front in making the country’s case to avoid the tariff blow.

The trade bans could affect the AUKUS security pact, with Australian company Bisalloy Steel named last year as a supplier to US submarine-maker Newport News Shipbuilding.

Defence Minister Richard Marles, who returned from Washington on Sunday after meeting his new US counterpart Pete ­Hegseth, said the whole point of AUKUS was to remove trade ­barriers, “and that is very much to the benefit of both countries in terms of having the capabilities that we need”.

Mr Marles said Australia was “advocating to the greatest possible extent” to avoid the tariffs. He praised Mr Rudd as “a very skilled diplomat” and “a force of nature” for Australia’s interests.

NSW Premier Chris Minns raised concerns on Monday over the “dumping of Chinese aluminium, steel and manufactured goods onto the Australian market”. He was backed by Australian Steel Association chief executive David Buchanan, who warned of major disruptions to the global steel market.

Australian Aluminium Council chief executive Marghanita ­Johnson said that while the US represented a small market for local producers, the tariffs would have a big knock-on effect.

“Bauxite, alumina and aluminium are globally traded and there are interdependencies in these supply chains,” Ms Johnson said.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, whose state is home to the troubled Whyalla steelworks, said his government was “preparing and planning for any number of scenarios”.

However Mr Malinauskas said he was “more optimistic than ever about the future of the ­steelworks in the long run”, ­despite the facility’s owner GFG Alliance owing tens of millions of dollars to creditors and the state government through outstanding royalties.