Don Farrell’s US trade mission shelved as Labor eyes election

Australia’s Trade Minister has put on hold a planned US trip to seek an exemption from Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs as Labor prepares to shift into election mode.

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Trade Minister Don Farrell has put on hold a planned US trip to seek an exemption from Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs as Labor prepares to shift into election mode, leaving Australia’s ambassador Kevin Rudd to plead the nation’s case.

Dr Rudd was due to meet Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick early on Saturday morning AEDT, but Australia’s hopes for a carve-out were dealt a blow when President Trump declared his metals tariffs were on track to be implemented on Wednesday without modification.

Mr Trump issued the warning as he delivered another reprieve for Canada and Mexico, exempting imports that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada-agreement from his threatened 25 per cent tariffs until at least April 2.

It came as Anthony Albanese accused the Coalition of undermining the national interest with “nonsense and cheering against Australia’s position”.

Kevin Rudd in Jackson, Tennessee as he visits the BlueScope steel factory that employs almost 5000 Americans across 16 states. Picture: X

He levelled the charge after opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman argued Australia had an even stronger case to secure a tariff exemption than it did in 2018, when Malcolm Turnbull secured a carve-out from Mr Trump’s first-term steel and aluminium levies.

Mr Coleman said the nation’s investments in American military hardware under AUKUS and its substantial trade deficit with the US should secure special treatment for Australia.

Mr Trump previously declared he would give “great consideration” to an exemption for Australia.

Mr Farrell had said he would travel to the US for talks with Mr Lutnick after his counterpart’s appointment was confirmed by the Senate, which happened more than a fortnight ago.

But the planned trip was sidelined by Senate estimates hearings in the last week of February, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ recent visit to Washington, when he urged US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to spare Australian steel and aluminium exporters from the planned 25 per cent duties.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers meets US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Kevin Rudd in Washington DC. Picture: Michael Butcher

It’s understood Mr Farrell will see what comes of Mr Lutnick’s meeting with Dr Rudd before deciding whether to make the trip.

Opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said he was disappointed neither Mr Farrell nor the Prime Minister had travelled to travelled to Washington to make Australia’s case.

President Trump’s latest change to his tariff settings came just days after he granted the big three American automakers – Stellantis, Ford and General Motors – a one-month exemption from his 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which commenced on March 4.

The vast majority of goods exported to the United States by Canada and Mexico fall under the USMCA. The April 2 expiration date for the exemption is significant because it also marks the start date for Mr Trump’s broader reciprocal tariff regime.

The carve-outs announced by Mr Trump failed to quell the markets, which have plunged on concerns over his tariff plans.

Trade Minister Don Farrell is adopting a wait-and-see approach before travelling to the US. Picture: Martin Ollman

The Nasdaq Composite fell by more than 2.6 per cent on Thursday local time, and the S & P 500 dropped by nearly 1.8 per cent, with Mr Trump blaming the trend on “globalist companies” that stood to lose out under his policies.

Speaking at the White House, Mr Trump said his decision to provide an exemption for goods under the USMCA had “nothing to do with the market. I’m not even looking at the market”.

“We’ve been treated very unfairly as a country. We protect everybody. We do everything for all these countries and a lot of these are globalist in nature,” Mr Trump said on Friday AEDT. “We have globalist companies that have been ripping us off that won’t be able to rip us off any longer.”

The new adjustments to his tariff policy would exempt goods from Canada and Mexico that qualified for USMCA preference.

Mr Trump also agreed to a lower 10 per cent tariff on any potash imported from Canada and Mexico that fell outside USMCA compliance.

However, all goods that did not satisfy the USMCA rules of origin would face the 25 per cent tariff, while energy products that fell outside the USMCA would be subject to a lower 10 per cent tariff.

Mr Trump made clear he was using the tariffs as “leverage to protect Americans,” with the White House saying he would not allow US national security to be “compromised by our closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico”.

The exemptions were aimed at recognising the “unique impact that these tariffs could have on American automotive manufacturers”.

But Mr Trump said that his steel and aluminium tariffs would be imposed in full next week, and he still intended to impose “the big one – reciprocal tariffs – on April 2.

President Trump said he wanted the US to be more “self-sustaining” to avoid paying tariffs on goods such as lumber from Canada.

Mr Trump said he plans to sign an executive order loosening environmental regulations to increase the lumber supply in the country.

“We don’t need trees from Canada,” he told reporters. “We don’t need cars from Canada. We don’t need energy from Canada. We don’t need anything from Canada.”

Earlier, after speaking with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Mr Trump revealed on his Truth Social platform that he had agreed to cut Mexico a deal.

“This agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the border, both in terms of stopping illegal aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping fentanyl,” Mr Trump said.

“Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and co-operation.”

Ms Sheinbaum also posted on her social media account thanking Mr Trump, saying that “we had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties”.

Meanwhile, before pausing tariffs on Canada, Mr Trump had another gibe at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of using the tariffs in an attempt to run for the leadership again.

“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister. So much fun to watch!” Mr Trump posted.

Additional reporting: AFP