Australia will “examine all options” after the US president Donald Trump announced a temporary 15% tariff would apply to US imports from all countries.
The US president’s move came less than 24 hours after the US supreme court overturned his original 10% import tariff. Shortly after the ruling, Trump announced he was reinstating the 10% duties using a different law before raising it again to 15%.
In a brief statement on Sunday morning, the trade minister, Don Farrell, said he was working closely with Australia’s embassy in Washington to “assess the implications and examine all options”.
“Australia believes in free and fair trade,” he said.
“We have consistently advocated against these unjustified tariffs.”
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It’s expected the new levies will come into effect from 4pm on Tuesday 24 February AEDT, though the White House’s fact sheet has not been updated for the latest levy announcement.
Trump took to social media to announce his response, decrying the supreme court ruling as “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American” and claiming the subjected countries had been “‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades”.
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” the US president wrote.
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson, told Sky News on Sunday that Trump’s announcement was “regrettable and unfortunate”.
“It’s contrary to our free trade agreement and the spirit of our friendship between our two nations,” he said.
“I would hope that the president would consider an exemption for Australia from that tariff, and I hope that the Albanese Government, with their new ambassador, Greg Moriarty, shortly to start in Washington D.C., are able to secure that exemption for Australia.”
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, told Channel Nine the newly announce tariffs would be “damaging to everybody”.
“Tariffs are inflationary. And guess who pays it? It’s the little guy. It’s you and I,” he said.
“It’s when we go to the supermarkets, when we go to buy or go to build a home, we have to pay for it. And that’s the reality of what Donald Trump’s doing.”
In November, Trump removed tariffs on beef, coffee and banana exports to the US after conceding domestic demand was outstripping domestic supply. The Australian government has consistently criticised the levies as “an act of economic self-harm”.
