Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lamented his government's “ideological disagreement” with the United States after the Trump administration announced plans to impose a new tariff on Australian goods. The tariff, set at 12.5 per cent, comes as the US claims Australia has failed to prevent the importation of goods made using forced labour.
On Wednesday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer declared that Australia's alleged failure to address forced labour in its supply chains was “unacceptable”. The new tariff adds to previously announced sweeping 10 per cent tariffs, further straining trade relations between the two nations.
Albanese pushes back
Mr Albanese strongly rejected the allegations, insisting Australia has “world leading legislation” to combat modern slavery. “With regard to the specifics that have been put forward by their trade representative, Australia has robust, comprehensive and world leading legislation addressing forced labour and modern slavery,” he told the ABC on Thursday. “It's been passed through the Parliament with unanimous support. We continue to use every opportunity that we have to advocate that US tariffs imposed on Australia are unwarranted.”
The Prime Minister argued that the Trump administration has departed from decades of economic consensus that tariffs are harmful to the country imposing them. “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,” he said. “Free trade is in the interests of the global economy. It's in the interests of Australia. It's also in the interests of the United States.”
US justification
Mr Greer justified the new tariffs by stating that US workers are forced to compete “on an unlevel playing field”. The Trump administration argues that tariffs favour domestically produced products and has offered companies tariff immunity if they relocate their operations to the United States. For nearly a century, the US has prohibited the importation of goods made with forced labour, and the administration is pressuring trading partners to adopt similar measures.
Australia is one of 60 countries singled out by the US for alleged failure to stop importing goods made with forced labour. Countries that have implemented forced-labour import bans, committed to a ban, or operate a partial prohibition face additional tariffs of 10 per cent. This levy applies to 15 countries, including Canada, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain, and the European Union.
Communication with US
When asked about recent communication with the Trump administration, Mr Albanese declined to specify whether he had made direct contact. “We've put our position very clearly which is that any tariff on Australian exports to the United States are unjustified, they're inconsistent with our free trade agreement,” he said. The Prime Minister emphasised that Australia continues to advocate for the removal of tariffs through diplomatic channels.
SkyNews.com.au has contacted Mr Greer's office and Trade Minister Don Farrell for comment.
