Editor’s view: Meeting with world’s most powerful man will be Albo’s true test

Success from Anthony Albanese’s meeting with US President Donald Trump – will be measured, at least in part, by the concessions he can win for Australian exporters from America’s new tariff hikes.

Anthony Albanese will meet with US President Donald Trump on the G7 sidelines.

This year’s G7 Summit under way in Canada has become much more than just another talkfest for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It will also be a true test of his ability to argue Australia’s case with the world’s most powerful man, on two fronts – defence and trade.

Success from Mr Albanese’s scheduled meeting with that man – US President Donald Trump – will be measured, at least in part, by the concessions and carve-outs he can win for Australian exporters from America’s new tariff hikes.

The Prime Minister’s other primary challenge during the meeting, due to take place tomorrow morning, will be keeping the multibillion-dollar AUKUS submarines deal with the US and the UK alive in the wake of last week’s announcement in Washington of a review of the plan.

Beyond the much-anticipated meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines, the summit also gives our PM a chance to reinforce Australia’s relations with other like-minded allies at a time of growing global tensions – and the way Mr Trump is up-ending norms.

Australia-US ties are historically strong. We have, by and large, shared common values and fought side-by-side in wars around the world against common enemies.

And there is no suggestion that the underlying bonds that unite our two countries are about to snap, but the re-emergence of Mr Trump and his “America First” agenda are a sharp reminder that seemingly permanent arrangements can quickly change.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

A key plank in the Trump administration’s approach to international relations is that the US has been carrying the defence can for too long and that its allies have to pick up the slack. It has already begun pressuring Australia to boost its military budget by another $40bn a year or so a year.

Mr Albanese will either have to stump up some more money or run the risk of putting off-side our most strategically significant ally.

Regardless of how that plays out, now is a good time for Australia to start looking elsewhere for global friends. And where better to start than with Canada?

Australia and Canada have much history in common. We are both commonwealth nations, still with King Charles as our formal head of state. We too have fought together, often in the service of others. Our economies are similar, to the extent that our world-class mining and agriculture businesses are regular competitors. And much more than us, Canada has had to learn to live in the shadow of the US and has felt the “America First” winds of change far more forcefully than Australia.

One of Mr Albanese’s first meetings when arriving in Canada was with the country’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney. By all accounts, it went well – with both leaders agreeing to work to strengthen the Australia-Canadian defence alliance.

Also emphasised was our shared expertise with firefighting.

Mr Albanese will also be holding bilateral talks with the leaders of France, Germany, Japan and the UK, as well as a trilateral meeting with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, with the resumption of negotiations toward an Australia-EU free trade agreement and expected agenda item.

The Europeans are also expected to invite Mr Albanese to consider a Security and Defence Partnership with the EU that could increase collaboration on counter-terrorism, defence and technology.

In short, it’s a jam-packed few days for Mr Albanese, which could fundamentally reshape Australia’s strategic relationships with the rest of the world for some years to come.

Originally published as Editor’s view: Meeting with world’s most powerful man will be Albo’s true test