Buy Aussie, PM urges, as trade battle ramps up
Australians will be incentivised to buy locally made products, after the United States imposed hefty tariffs on some metals exports.
After failing to secure an exemption, Australia – alongside every US trading partner – was slapped with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium sent to the US on Wednesday.
In some countries, such as Canada, consumers are boycotting American goods in response to this and other US policy shifts.
Asked if Australians should do the same, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the budget – to be delivered on March 25 – would include extra support for a “buy Australian” campaign.
“I would urge Australians, if they’re in a local shop, to look to buy Australian,” he told ABC radio on Thursday.
“That’s the one way that consumers can assist to create jobs here and to support our local industries.”
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The tariffs were “very disappointing”, Albanese reiterated. But he said his government would continue to try to negotiate an exemption with the US.
He again noted it took months for Australia to be granted a carve-out on similar tariffs imposed during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
But time may be running out amid expectations Trump could impose tariffs on other products and sectors, ramping up the prospect of a global trade war.
“We’re under no illusion as to what we’re facing,” Defence Minister Richard Marles told ABC radio.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has hinted abundant critical mineral resources have been raised in discussions with the US, after Trump recently talked about the importance of US access and supply.
“Of course, we listen to those signals,” Wong told ABC television on Wednesday night.
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton continues to insist a Coalition government would have been able to strike an exemption deal with the US.
“I completely and utterly disagree with the decision President Trump’s made, but it’s up to our Prime Minister to stand up for our country’s interests,” he told Nine’s Today show.
As the impact of the US tariffs rippled across the world, Canada and the European Union retaliated with their own.
Albanese has ruled out a similar response from Australia.
He has also rejected suggestions Australia pull out of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, which could save taxpayers up to $368 billion. Albanese insisted AUKUS was a “good deal for Australia”.
Meanwhile, a union secretary representing workers from Australia’s largest steel manufacturer and supplier said Australia should bolster its domestic industry.
Trump’s reasoning in imposing the steel tariffs was more than just financial, South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris argues.
“The principle motivation for Trump is not just to make money from Australian steel imports, the principle motivation is to steal our industry,” he said.
“He knows that steel is such a foundational industry and if he moves on that and other companies and industries around the world, he increases and consolidates his power and weakens that of his competitors.”
Rorris’s union covers workers from BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks in the NSW Illawarra.
“We have more than enough of a market here to use every last ounce of steel made at our steelworks,” he said.
Australia sends about $800 million worth of steel to the US each year, representing 0.2 per cent of all exports to its ally.
Rorris said the tariffs meant Australia had to back its domestic steelmaking industry further to counteract the moves from the Trump administration.
