'This is not the act of a friend', PM responds to Trump's tariffs

Australian Community Media

The Trump Administration has announced a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all imports from all nations. Anthony Albanese says Australia will use its dispte resolution function with Trump to negotatiate America's tariff on Australian beef.

Transcript

00:00The unilateral action that the Trump administration has taken today against

00:05every nation in the world does not come as a surprise. For Australia these

00:10tariffs are not unexpected but let me be clear they are totally unwarranted.

00:17President Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be

00:23zero not 10%. The administration's tariffs have no basis in logic and they

00:31go against the basis of our two nations partnership. This is not the act of a

00:36friend. Today's decision will add to uncertainty in the global economy and it

00:42will push up costs for American households. It is the American people who

00:47will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs. This is why our

00:53government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs. We will not

00:58join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth. We will

01:04stand up for Australia. We will continue to make the strongest case for these

01:09unjustified tariffs to be removed from our exporters. Our existing free trade

01:15agreement with the United States contains dispute resolution mechanisms.

01:20We want to resolve these issues without resorting to using these as we do

01:27support continued constructive engagement with our friends in the

01:31United States. Our shared history, our friendship, our alliance, these are all

01:38bigger than a poor decision. But the Australian people have every right to

01:44view this action by the Trump administration as undermining our free

01:49and fair trading relationship and counter to the shared values that have

01:54always been at the heart of our two nations long-standing friendship. This

01:59will have consequences for how Australians see this relationship. These

02:05are uncertain times but Australians can be absolutely certain of this. Our

02:12government will always stand up for Australian jobs, Australian industry,

02:17Australian consumers and Australian values. That is why we've been crystal

02:23clear with the United States about what is not up for negotiation. Australia is a

02:29great trading nation. One in four of our jobs depends upon trade but we'll never

02:35trade away the things which make us the best country in the world.

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