Coalition ‘ready to work with' Labor on Trump tariff deal, Sussan Ley says
Sussan Ley says she is 'ready to work with' Labor to get a US tariff carve out after Donald Trump doubled duties on steel and aluminium.
The US President signed an executive order on Tuesday afternoon (Washington time), raising the levies from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, following through on his vow to do so last week.
Only the UK was spared from the new imposts due to a deal inked in May.
The tariffs have effectively blocked Australian-made steel from the US market.
Reacting to the order on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader said Australia's inclusion was 'not in the spirit' of the Australia-US alliance.
'We note that the United Kingdom has been able to secure an exemption from the latest American steel tariffs and we stand ready to work with the Albanese government to ensure Australia can achieve the same outcome,' Ms Ley said in a statement.
'President Trump's tariffs on our steelmakers are not in the spirit of our century-old partnership and we urge the Americans to give Australia a fair go and remove them.
'The Coalition wants the government to succeed here because that is in our national interest.'
Analysts have questioned the merits of the UK's deal, which has still not come into effect.
While it was not included in the latest round, British steel and aluminium have been slugged with the original 25 per cent tariffs.
The White House has also said it would slap a quota on UK imports.
In exchange, the British government gave US firms greater access to parts of the UK economy, including its agricultural industry.
Mr Trump included Australia in the blanket tariffs in March after telling Anthony Albanese an exemption was 'under consideration'.
Australia was also hit with 10 per cent levies on most goods as part of Mr Trump's 'Liberation Day' imposts.
The Prime Minister said on Tuesday he would raise the duties when he meets the US leader on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada later this month.
Mr Albanese said it was 'an act of economic self-harm, and it's not the act of a friend, and this just pushes up prices for American purchasers and consumers'.
NewsWire understands the details of the leaders' first face-to-face have not been set but both sides expect them to meet.
The Albanese government said a deal was before the Trump administration and the ball was in Washington's court.
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