Australia’s Albanese expects ‘one-on-one’ discussion with Trump on tariffs

SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on March 30 that he expects to have a one-on-one discussion with US President Donald Trump on tariffs, as Washington prepares to announce new tariffs on its trading partners on April 2.

There are concerns Australia could be impacted by the looming escalation in the Trump administration’s global trade war when it unveils the reciprocal tariffs on so-called “liberation day”. 

Mr Trump in March imposed steel and aluminium tariffs that affect Australian exports.

Mr Albanese, speaking on the second full day of campaigning ahead of a May 3 general election in Australia, said his government had engaged “very constructively” with US officials on tariffs, ahead of the expected April 2 announcement.

When asked about the possibility of speaking to Mr Trump on the issue, Mr Albanese said: “We’ll have a one-on-one discussion”.

In remarks televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp from Canberra, Mr Albanese added: “A couple of weeks ago, the reason why that didn’t occur was because the President made a decision to not talk to anyone and impose this regime on every country.” 

A key issue in Australia’s election campaign is which leader – Mr Albanese or the Liberal-National coalition’s Mr Peter Dutton – would best handle relations with Mr Trump, who exempted Australia from US tariffs on steel and aluminium during his first presidential term.

Mr Albanese has previously said his centre-left Labor government is “engaging on a daily basis” with the Trump administration over tariffs, pointing to his two phone calls with the US President and early meetings between the two countries’ defence and foreign ministers. REUTERS