EDITORIAL: Donald Trump trade talks a pivotal test for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Australia has been dumped in the thick of Donald Trump’s trade war and the economic ramifications could be dire.

The President’s pronouncement that all steel and aluminium entering the US would be subject to 25 per cent tariffs has sent shivers down the spines of industry.

Australian Industry Group chief executive officer Innes Willox described the proposal as a “slap in the face” for industry given our nations’ strong ties across the past century.

Recent history has shown that when it comes to the application of tariffs, Mr Trump’s rhetoric sometimes doesn’t match his actions.

Threatened 25 per cent tariffs on exports from Mexico and Canada have been put on ice for 30 days. A plan to tax exports from Colombia also failed to materialise.

In each of those instances, the nations involved agreed to some concessions — Colombia to accept deported citizens from the US, Mexico and Canada to beef up border security.

It would be foolish however, to dismiss Mr Trump’s tariff threats as a baseless bluff. Tariffs on Chinese goods have come into effect as the President promised.

The challenge falls to the Federal Government to ensure Australia is carved out and keep our economy insulated from Mr Trump’s isolationist trade agenda.

We’ve faced down this exact scenario before.

In 2018, through then-ambassador Joe Hockey and prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Australia was able to secure an exemption from Mr Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs, one of only three countries to do so.

The personnel may have changed on Australia’s end, but there’s no reason (Mr Trump’s personal animosity towards Kevin Rudd included) to believe we can’t secure a similar exemption for a second time.

This time, it will be Anthony Albanese making the play.

He will raise the question of tariffs — and why Australia should be exempt from them — during a phone call with Mr Trump scheduled to take place within the next 24 hours.

It will be a pivotal test for the Prime Minister, who will need to make the case that in this instance, what’s in Australia’s national interest is also in the interest of Americans.

Working in his favour is that unlike Canada, China and Mexico, Australia has a significant trade deficit with the US, valued at US$17.7 billion in 2023.

Also to our advantage is that the announcement of these proposed tariffs should come as no surprise to Australia’s diplomats and trade negotiators. This is a punch Mr Trump has telegraphed since well before his re-election as President.

One would hope that means there have been diplomats on Australia’s payroll in both Canberra and Washington working on plans and contingencies for precisely this scenario.

That should mean that when Mr Albanese picks up the phone to the Oval Office in a few hours, he’ll be ready to talk deals.

It’s a language Mr Trump knows, understands and crucially, respects.