Government rejects former minister Bill Shorten’s tit-for-tat Donald Trump tariff retort

The Albanese Government has rejected calls by former minister Bill Shorten to slap retaliatory tariffs on the United States, pledging to take a calm approach as anxieties mount about possible future levies.

As President Donald Trump threatened 200 per cent tariffs on European wine and spirits, at home the Government said it was “deeply concerned” about the prospect of a fresh round of imposts targeting agricultural and pharmaceutical exports.

Australia will continue to push for an exemption on the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum that came in effect this week, but Labor has also vowed to stand by beef, wine, and other agricultural exporters as the world awaits more details of Mr Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs slated to begin on April 2.

Mr Shorten, the former Labor leader and NDIS minister recently turned vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra, said the Government should “push back” harder on Mr Trump, including by imposing our own “dollar-for-dollar” tariffs on American products.

“I’m confident this Government, and I think all reasonable Australians, will say at a certain point, ‘You push us, we push you.’ It’s as simple as that,” he told Channel Seven.

“If they keep putting tariffs on all of our goods, we’ve got to reciprocate dollar-for-dollar, tariff-for-tariff. I don’t think we’re there yet.

“At a certain point the people you’re negotiating with have to think you’ve got be an alternative, they’ve got to think that you mean business.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described it as an “interesting intervention”, while Trade Minister Don Farrell said although retaliating was “tempting”, the Government would take a diplomatic approach.

“Some people have said, ‘Let’s retaliate against the United States’, ‘let’s start proposing tariffs now’,” Senator Farrell told the Future Food Summit.

“As tempting as that might be … I don’t think it’s the way to resolve these outstanding issues.

“And I think a sensible collective approach, the way that we connected with China, is the way we need to deal with these issues. And certainly that’s the policy to adopt.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also distanced himself from Mr Shorten’s comments and reiterated his belief tariffs were an act of “economic self-harm”, and he would not punish Australian consumers.

“Tariffs are a tax on Australian consumers… We stand very clearly in favour of free and fair trade,” he said.

“You can’t argue that it’s an act of economic self-harm for the US to impose tariffs, and then us impose tariffs as well.”

The Government will instead make a “spiced up” push for shoppers to buy Australian chocolates, whiskey, honey, and other products instead of American options.

Senator Farrell spoke with his counterpart Howard Lutnick on Friday, and both he and the PM have defended not travelling to Washington to make their case in person.

The minister reiterated his belief there was never a chance of an exemption, despite Mr Trump promising to give “great consideration” to Australia’s case following a 50-minute phone call with Mr Albanese last month.

While the tariffs on steel and aluminum only impact about $1 billion of Australia’s export trade to the US, the Government is concerned about the impact of Mr Trump’s planned “reciprocal tariffs” - a response to countries value added taxes, like Australia’s GST - could have on agricultural and pharmaceutical

Senator Farrell said he was “deeply concerned” about what could come next, and was seeking “the application of our fair trade agreements” with the US.

He pledged to protect Australia’s beef, wine and agriculture exporters

“Part of my job will be to convince (the US) that this is not the right way to go,” he said.

Mr Shorten had earlier said the Government would need to be stern.

“It’s steel and aluminium today. Is it agricultural and farming tomorrow? At some point we have to send a message to President Trump … that if you do something to us, we’ll do it back to you. We cannot be pushed around,” Mr Shorten said.

“Australia might be a bit smaller than America, but we’re not a soft mark and we need to consider putting everything on the table, as I’m sure the government will be, to fight back.”

The Government says Australia has put forward a “range of propositions” to the US, including around critical minerals, but to no avail.

Resources Minister Madeleine King told the ABC on Friday there was high demand in the US for Australian minerals, but intimated the Government was prepared to give other countries access.

“We would very much like to have a partnership with the US, but if they don’t want to do that, then that’s up to them and we’ll continue to work with other nations as well,” King told the ABC.

Shadow trade minister Kevin Hogan, who said the Coalition would ensure Australia secured an exemption, suggested both critical minerals and AUKUS should be included in future discussions.

When asked if he thinks AUKUS should be a bargaining chip, Mr Dutton said it was “a bedrock of the relationship” and could be one of many “leverage points”.