In short:
Australia’s efforts to secure an exemption from US tariffs on aluminium and steel have failed, the White House has confirmed on the eve of the tariffs taking effect.
The Australian government says it’s still lobbying for a last-minute reprieve.
What’s next?
The tariffs are due to take effect at 3pm Wednesday, AEDT. The Trump administration is developing plans for further tariffs under its “America First” trade policy.
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Canada: Psssst… straya. We should produce and refine each other’s steel and aluminum. Pass it on to New Zealand
We should put a matched tariff on aluminium and steel exports just to make sure the Americans really feel how expensive their shit is about to get, also to skim some sweet government revenue for ourselves
Maybe, its small enough to Australia as a whole though, that it might be better to try to ignore it and concentrate efforts on expansion with better trade partners.
We, of course, want to react to things that hurt us. But we also don’t want to be seen to be over-reacting, or highly reactionary to minor slights. That undermines international investment confidence in Australia, which is more important to us than a country like the US.
It would be good for us to demonstrate stable and thoughtful statesmanship at this time. We should configure our own response to maximise our own soft power and reputation in the world, because other countries are also observing how we will react.
The tariffs started at 3pm today
