Extract from ABC News
Malcolm Turnbull responds to Donald Trump''s criticisms. (Sarah Ferguson)
In short:
Donald Trump called Malcolm Turnbull a "weak leader" in a social media post which appeared to be motivated by the former PM's appearance on Bloomberg Australia.
The Albanese government may soon receive bad news on exemptions to steel and aluminium tariffs despite an initial assurance direct from Mr Trump that "great consideration" would be given.
What's next?
The tariffs are set to be implemented on Thursday Australian time.
Donald Trump has lashed Malcolm Turnbull as a "weak and ineffective leader" in an extraordinary personal attack on the last Australian prime minister to obtain a tariff exemption from the United States in 2018.
The outburst from Mr Trump appeared to be in response to an interview Mr Turnbull gave to Bloomberg Australia in which he described the US president as "chaotic, rude, abusive and erratic" and warned his poor treatment of allies would ultimately benefit China, at a time when the two major powers are vying for influence.
"Malcolm Turnbull, the former prime minister of Australia who was always leading that wonderful country from 'behind', never understood what was going on in China, nor did he have the capacity to do so," Mr Trump wrote in a late-night post on social media platform Truth Social.
"I always thought he was a weak and ineffective leader and, obviously, Australians agreed with me!"
Mr Turnbull later doubled down on his critique of Mr Trump, telling the ABC's 7.30 it was up to the leaders of friendly countries, like Australia, to stand up to the US president and to be frank with voters about the fact that the world had changed.
He also said the idea of allies having to "suck up" to Mr Trump or join "the conga line of sycophants creeping through the White House" to avoid punishing tariffs was ludicrous.
"The impact that Trump is having on the world, on the Western alliance, on markets, on our economies — I mean, these are matters that we have to talk about," he told 7.30.
"We cannot continue this bipartisan gas-lighting that is going on at the moment."
Mr Turnbull told 7.30 that Trump's attitude towards Western allies, which had seen him "helping Putin in Ukraine", could send some into alliances with China.
"The reality is that Xi Jinping [and] China, will take advantage of Trump's chaotic behaviour, and his harassing and bullying, seeking to extort allies," Mr Turnbull said.
"This erratic behaviour will be taken advantage of by China. Where Trump is erratic, they'll be consistent.
"ASEAN countries in Africa, in South America … anywhere where people are trying to be friends with both sides, if Trump abuses them, seeks to bully them, puts crippling tariffs on them, they will naturally edge closer to China."
Mr Trump and Mr Turnbull famously clashed in 2017 over a refugee resettlement deal Australia had signed with Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.
But this latest skirmish comes at a highly sensitive time for the Albanese government as it seeks to secure a carve-out from a mooted 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium tariffs, due to take effect on March 12.
In a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last month, Mr Trump promised to give "great consideration" to Australia's request for an exemption and at the time, cited the fact that the US has a trade surplus with Australia.
Trade Minister Don Farrell has indicated the government is emphasising the point "extremely forcefully": that Australia buys $70 billion worth of goods from the US, while the US buys $30 billion in good from Australia.
However, as the tariff deadline looms, the government is growing increasingly pessimistic about its chances.
In Senate estimates last month, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was "realistic" that an exemption would "take time", likening it to the year-long wait the Turnbull government was subjected to in its own efforts to secure an exemption in 2017.
"Given what has happened in the intervening period I suppose I'd say we have an even greater hill to climb," she said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government faced a tougher task to secure an exemption than the Turnbull government had. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
Australian Ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, has had two meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the past week, and senior DFAT official George Mina was sent to Washington DC to back in Australia's arguments.
Mr Mina is said to have paved the way for China to remove $20 billion worth of trade sanctions slapped on Australia during the COVID pandemic.
Farrell to stay home
Minister Farrell told The Australian he was hoping for a satisfactory outcome from the talks but had no plans to travel to the US in coming days, perhaps indicating a deal is not on the cards.
"The Albanese Government has a strong track record on trade — we have shown that a calm, persistent approach is the best way to get great results for Australian businesses and workers," Mr Farrell said in a statement.
"Australia and the United States are trusted partners, and we are using every opportunity to make it known to our friends in America the immense benefits of our partnership."
Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick appeared alongside ambassador Kevin Rudd at a summit featuring Australian super funds. (Supplied)
Mr Turnbull, who managed to successfully argue for an exemption from metal tariffs under the first Trump administration, said he believed it would be "a lot harder" for the Albanese government this time around.
"A steel tariff will only put up the price of steel rooves in California," he said, referring to the popular ColorBond steel products made by Australia's biggest steelmaker BlueScope.
"[But] this is a very different America, led by a very different president," Mr Turnbull said.
Australia's aluminium exports account for about 2 per cent of America's imports.
Mr Turnbull said the risk to Australia's economy was not so much the tariffs on aluminium and steel, but rather a slowdown in the global economy triggered by a tit-for-tat trade war.
No comments:
Post a Comment