PM seeks to reassure Australians about the fate of their businesses under US Trump administration
Anthony Albanese is seeking to reassure Australian exporters about the fate of their businesses under an incoming US Trump administration, insisting he is confident they will be spared tariffs of up to 20% that the president-elect is threatening to impose.
The prime minister said on Sunday that he did not expect any US move to slap tariffs on incoming goods to include imports from Australia.
“I’m very confident,” Albanese told ABC’s Insiders program. “We will put forward Australia’s national interest. I don’t want to pre-empt those decisions, but we’ll advocate for Australia’s national interest. That’s my job to do so, because one in four jobs in Australia is trade-dependent, and that’s why we benefit from it.”
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Albanese cited Trump’s upbeat description of the bilateral relationship, offered during the pair’s 10-minute phone call after Trump’s 5 November election victory.
“He said we’re going to have a ‘perfect friendship’ and I’m very confident that the relationship with the United States will stay strong,” Albanese said.
Earlier, the prime minister distanced himself from his own 2017 admission, made at a music festival, that Trump “scared the shit out of him”.
“I will deal with President Trump and I’ll deal with him constructively in Australia’s national interest,” Albanese told Sky News. “And I’m confident that we will be able to do so.
