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Australia Blasts US Over New 12.5 Percent Tariff Plan
(MENAFN) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese openly challenged Washington on Thursday, declaring that Canberra holds a fundamental "ideological disagreement" with the Trump administration following the unveiling of a sweeping new tariff proposal that targets Australian exports.
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced plans to impose additional duties of 10% or 12.5% on imported goods from more than 60 economies, including Australia, citing alleged use of forced labor in the production of goods — a charge that has drawn sharp pushback from Canberra.
"There is an ideological disagreement where the United States administration has broken with what was a decades-long understanding that tariffs are not positive for the country that is imposing them," Albanese was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as saying.
The move marks Washington's second attempt to levy tariffs on Australian imports. A prior 10% duty was struck down by the US Supreme Court in February, making the latest proposal a renewed point of contention between the two allies.
Albanese made clear that Canberra considers any tariff on its exports to the US a direct breach of the spirit and letter of existing free trade agreements between the two nations.
"They increase the cost of goods and services in the country that is applying them to its consumers, and … free trade is in the interests of the global economy," he said.
The dispute also played out on the international stage. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell confronted US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer directly over the tariffs during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gathering in Paris, also labeling the measures "unjustified."
"It's one of which no notice was given. One of the things that we ask for in terms of international engagement is certainty. Australia and the United States are important allies," Farrell said.
Albanese broadened his criticism, pointing to what he described as a troubling pattern of shifting and unpredictable trade decisions emanating from Washington.
"It is unfortunate that there has been a rolling series of decisions, some of which change from time to time, but all of which do have a common theme, which is that the United States is a supporter of tariffs," he added.
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced plans to impose additional duties of 10% or 12.5% on imported goods from more than 60 economies, including Australia, citing alleged use of forced labor in the production of goods — a charge that has drawn sharp pushback from Canberra.
"There is an ideological disagreement where the United States administration has broken with what was a decades-long understanding that tariffs are not positive for the country that is imposing them," Albanese was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as saying.
The move marks Washington's second attempt to levy tariffs on Australian imports. A prior 10% duty was struck down by the US Supreme Court in February, making the latest proposal a renewed point of contention between the two allies.
Albanese made clear that Canberra considers any tariff on its exports to the US a direct breach of the spirit and letter of existing free trade agreements between the two nations.
"They increase the cost of goods and services in the country that is applying them to its consumers, and … free trade is in the interests of the global economy," he said.
The dispute also played out on the international stage. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell confronted US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer directly over the tariffs during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gathering in Paris, also labeling the measures "unjustified."
"It's one of which no notice was given. One of the things that we ask for in terms of international engagement is certainty. Australia and the United States are important allies," Farrell said.
Albanese broadened his criticism, pointing to what he described as a troubling pattern of shifting and unpredictable trade decisions emanating from Washington.
"It is unfortunate that there has been a rolling series of decisions, some of which change from time to time, but all of which do have a common theme, which is that the United States is a supporter of tariffs," he added.
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