Foreign Minister Penny Wong holds talks with Donald Trump’s new US Secretary of State Marc Rubio

Australia’s argument to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs and maintain the AUKUS pact has been delivered, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong meeting US Secretary of State Marc Rubio.

Australia’s argument to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs and maintain the AUKUS pact was successfully delivered on the first full day of his administration in his top diplomat’s first foreign engagements.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong – who was invited to the White House while moving vans were still parked outside – declared there was “a great deal of optimism and confidence” for the US-Australia alliance after her talks with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong had talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department. Picture: AFP

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Picture: AFP

She said he had recognised her pitch to spare Australia from tariffs on its imports, while also offering strong backing for the AUKUS deal to deliver US nuclear submarines down under.

The pair were also part of a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers in Washington DC, along with their counterparts from India and Japan, with Senator Wong suggesting the partnership that had already riled China could take on a tougher security role in the Indo-Pacific.

“It was important for what we discussed and important as a signal of the priority that the Trump administration places on the Indo-Pacific, and this is a good thing for Australia’s interests,” she said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Penny Won at the State Department in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

“I certainly got a sense from all of our discussion that we think more ambition in what the Quad does is a good thing. The form of that is something that will be discussed.”

A day after attending the President’s inauguration, the Foreign Minister also met with his national security adviser Mike Waltz, accompanied by Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd.

She said his position “did not come up” in her meetings, after Mr Trump’s allies questioned whether the former prime minister could continue to serve in the role given his past sharp criticisms of the Republican and an ominous social media post from one of his top aides.

Senator Wong said her meetings were “very warm and constructive”.

“Across the span of the alliance, there’s a great deal of optimism and confidence about the opportunities ahead, and I am really privileged to have had this level of engagement so early in the new administration,” she said.

She said Mr Rubio reiterated his positive comments made in his confirmation hearing last week about the value of AUKUS as “an investment in security and stability in the region”.

“I think it’s been really clear that the Trump administration understands the strategic imperative around AUKUS,” Senator Wong said.

While the Foreign Minister acknowledged Mr Trump would “do things differently”, she expressed “confidence in our capacity as a nation to navigate those challenges”, including to avoid his threat of universal tariffs on imports to the US.

“I have focused very much on articulating why Australia’s economic relationship with the United States is of benefit to the United States as well as to Australia – that is recognised,” she said.

“I focused on the benefit that the economic partnership brings in particular sectors to the United States, and that is recognised.”

But she refused to be drawn on whether Mr Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change accord would halt global momentum to reduce carbon emissions.

Originally published as Foreign Minister Penny Wong holds talks with Donald Trump’s new US Secretary of State Marc Rubio