Business urges Albanese to hold firm in Trump tariff talks

With Donald Trump’s 90-day tariff freeze nearing expiry, Australian industry leaders are urging Anthony Albanese to hold firm in trade negotiations with Washington.

Industry leaders are calling on Anthony Albanese to hold firm in tariff talks with the Trump administration. Picture: AFP

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Industry leaders are urging Anthony Albanese to stay the course in trade negotiations with the US and defend Australia’s national interest, as the looming expiry of Donald Trump’s 90-day freeze on his “Liberation Day” tariffs draws closer.

The appeals come as the US President on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) announced he had inked a tariff deal with Vietnam, granting duty-free access for American goods in exchange for a reduced 20 per cent tariff.

“It will be a great deal of co-­operation between our two countries,” Mr Trump said in a post to his social media platform Truth Social.

Having already established a pact with the UK, the agreement is the second secured by the US administration and delivers major relief to Vietnamese exporters who were previously facing a 46 per cent tariff announced in April.

But despite the tariff truce, Vietnamese exports to the US – including textiles, electronics and footwear – will still attract duties exceeding the 10 per cent rate applied to Australian goods, underscoring the White House’s drive to use tariff revenue to bankroll its sprawling tax and spending omnibus bill.

While the package is expected to add trillions to the US deficit, new analysis from Commonwealth Bank economists project the tariffs could generate at least $300bn annually at an 11 per cent rate, lower than the effective rate of about 16 per cent.

With global markets watching for signs of several significant trade deals before Mr Trump’s tariff freeze ends on July 9, Australian industry leaders on Thursday encouraged the Prime Minister to hold the line in bipartisan negotiations.

“Fundamentally, Australia has nothing to apologise for here,” Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said.

“Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything more that could have been done by the Australian government, here or through our mission in Washington.”

Calls for Labor to stand firm were similarly expressed by the National Farmers’ Federation, whose president David Jochinke urged the government to maintain its strong opposition to US pressure to water down Australia’s biosecurity laws.

“We’ve stood staunchly behind the federal government’s principles-based approach when negotiating trade and tariffs and encourage them to continue this method,” he said.

Mantas Vanagas, a senior economist at Westpac, said even if additional deals were reached before the July 9 deadline, any new agreements were likely to be limited and require further negotiations in the future.

“As a result, exporters and importers are likely to continue facing high uncertainty for months and quarters to come,” he said.

With the Albanese government proposing $50m in support for impacted sectors, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said businesses were eager to learn how those funds would be allocated

“Companies need practical assistance in knocking on doors in new and emerging markets to find new opportunities,” he said.