Positive signs for a deal with Donald Trump with speech by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent. Picture: AFP

Securing the attendance of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the inaugural Australian Super Summit in Washington this week is a diplomatic win for the nation at a turbulent and uncertain moment in the bilateral relationship.

The summit has a number of purposes – the most important being to bring to the attention of the US congress, the Trump administration and corporate America the scale of Australia’s pool of retirement savings.

Putting this on the US radar is timely given the bid by Anthony Albanese to obtain an exemption from Donald Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. It can only help.

Currently valued at about $US2.6 trillion, Australia’s superannuation savings are larger than the value of the Saudi and United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth funds. The summit is aimed at identifying possible strategies that could maximise a return for policy holders while creating opportunities to boost investment in strategic sectors of both the Australian and US economies. The other key goal is to leverage Sydney as the next financial services centre for the Indo-Pacific.

Inevitably, the super summit will be linked with the push by the Albanese government to escape steel and aluminium tariffs scheduled to commence from March 12. But Bessent’s attendance shows that – should Australia fail to secure such an exemption – it will be through no failure of diplomacy or engagement at the highest level of the Trump administration.

It appears that Trump and his economic advisers are less inclined to entertain tariff exclusions in his second term, presenting a tougher challenge for Australian diplomatic efforts which will need to be more creative to succeed.

Australia will most likely need to advance bilateral initiatives in the context of how they can progress Trump’s America First agenda. The super summit, which Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd began planning nine months ago, falls into this category.

Bessent, seen as Trump’s Wall Street whisperer, is one of the economic leaders within the President’s inner circle who has taken a more restrained approach to tariffs when compared to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and top trade adviser Peter Navarro.

He suggested universal tariffs should start at only 2.5 per cent and rise gradually to allow businesses time to adjust and give countries space to negotiate.

In Washington this week, Jim Chalmers will continue to make the argument with Bessent in favour of a tariff exemption – although no breakthrough is expected.

Winning over the US Treasury Secretary to Australia’s cause would be a major advantage, but whether Bessent has the influence to win the case with Trump is anyone’s guess.