PM ‘assumes’ nation’s tariff set at 10 per cent as July 9 looms

Anthony Albanese is expecting no change to the nation’s base tariff rate of 10 per cent when Donald Trump finalises his new trade regime next week, as he defended Kevin Rudd from criticism he had failed to progress negotiations.

Rhiannon Down, Joe Kelly and Greg Sheridan

Anthony Albanese speaks at Australia's Economic Outlook 2025, hosted by Sky News and The Australian, on Friday. Picture: Jane Dempster

3 min read

8:30PMJuly 04, 2025

Anthony Albanese is expecting no change to the nation’s base tariff rate of 10 per cent when Donald Trump finalises his new trade regime next week, as he defended Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, from criticism he had failed to progress negotiations for an exemption.

Amid concerns he had not met with the US President, the Prime Minister said he would have several in-person meetings with Mr Trump by the end of the year and he had already had three phone calls with his American counterpart.

Mr Albanese’s remarks come as former prime minister John Howard accused the Labor leader of mismanaging the US relationship “very badly” by allowing concerns about striking a deal over tariffs to overtake the need to meet Mr Trump in Washington.

Speaking at the annual Australia’s Economic Outlook event in Sydney on Friday, Mr Albanese defended Mr Rudd’s track record in the US capital, saying the former Labor prime minister had a “positive” relationship with the Trump administration.

“When I went to the US, the connections that Kevin Rudd has, as much as people might have had a view about Kevin over a period of time, no one could doubt his capacity, his hard work, his ability to work strongly,” Mr Albanese said.

“The discussions that I’ve had have been very positive. Nothing but positive in comments that have been made to me.”

When pressed on whether the 10 per cent general tariff would remain when a 90-day pause on the measures ends on July 9, Mr Albanese said: “I assume that will be the case. We are in a position where on July 9 that won’t really have an impact on us because that’s about other countries who have higher rates. No country has a better tariff level than 10 per cent. Now we will continue to put our case as we do.”

US President Donald Trump at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on Thursday. Picture: AFP

Mr Howard said Mr Albanese had allowed “sensitivity” over whether he could secure an exemption from Mr Trump’s tariffs to “take over from the need to meet Trump”.

“I think he (Mr Albanese) has managed the optics of the association with Trump very badly, and you can’t separate this from the optics of the relationship with America generally,” Mr Howard said.

“He’s allowed this to get out of hand. There’s really no substitute for the Prime Minister going to see the President in Washington.”

Mr Albanese said it was “understandable” Mr Trump cancelled their meeting at the G7 so he could go home early and formulate a plan to deal with the Israel-Iran war.

“I’m not worried by someone making an understandable decision, which he did, to return to Washington,” he said.

“And one of the things that we’ve got to do … we’ve got to stop talking Australia down.”

As the Pentagon prepared to hand down a review of the AUKUS pact, Mr Albanese hosed down suggestions the security agreement could be wound back.

“(Mr Trump has) said nothing negative about AUKUS, nor have other people, including Marco Rubio this week,” he said.

Although Australia has been informed it will not receive a letter imposing new tariffs, other trading partners are bracing for a wave of official letters – “maybe ten a day” – to start being sent to nations hit by the higher reciprocal tariffs first announced by Mr Trump on April 2.

The temporary freeze was aimed at allowing new trade deals to be struck, but Mr Trump said on Thursday local time that it was “much easier” to simply impose a new tariff rate on countries once the 90-day pause had ended.

“My inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariff they are going to be paying. It’s much easier,” Mr Trump said. “You can make big deals, but they are very much more complicated.

“I’d rather send out a letter saying ‘this is what you’re going to pay to do business in the United States’. And I think it will be well received.”

Mr Trump argued this approach was more simple because trade negotiations could become very “specific” and there were “so many countries” wanting to strike deals.

“Let’s do this (and) let’s do that – beef, ethanol. I’d rather just do a simple deal where you can maintain it and control it,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump announced that he had clinched a tariff deal with Vietnam.