Australia has described the US tariffs being imposed on its steel and aluminium as “entirely unjustified.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the country would not impose retaliatory tariffs and added that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs were an act of “economic self-harm.”
The White House has confirmed it would not give Australia or any other country an exemption from tariffs, which are part of President Trump’s plans to attract more manufacturers to the US.
A 25% tariff on Australian steel and aluminium will become effective from March 12.
Albanese said: “Australia has a close relationship with the United States. Friends need to act in a way that reinforces, to our respective populations, the fact that we are friends.
“This is not a friendly act. But it is imposed on every country, that is important.”
Earlier, Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that ordinary Americans would feel the heat of the “unprovoked and unjustified” tariffs.
While talking to Sky News, she said: “Guess who will pay the price of this? It’s actually Americans, American consumers. These tariffs will harm the ordinary American and the American economy.
“(It is) not the way to treat a friend and partner.”
