Penny Wong talks Anthony Albanese-Donald Trump meet at G7

Sky News AU

a day ago

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has praised Anthony Albanese's gift of the gab ahead of the Prime Minister's first face-to-face with Donald Trump.
NewsWire understands the two leaders are set to meet on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada starting later this week but a time has not been confirmed.
With a tariff carve out and defence spending straining relations between Canberra and Washington, Mr Albanese has no shortage of uncomfortable talking points for the US President.
But Senator Wong said on Wednesday Mr Albanese was 'pretty good at handling meetings'.
'He's had a lot of experience, not just as prime minister but as a senior minister for a very long time,' she told Nine.
'Look, we don't agree with the President Trump's administration on tariffs.
'We've made that clear. We think it's not consistent with our free trade agreement.
'We don't think it's in the interests of American consumers.
'We think it's an act of economic self-harm. We've made that clear publicly, consistently, and we will continue to do so.'
Australian exports to the US have been hit by the baseline 10 per cent duties on foreign goods.
Additionally, Australia has also been subjected to 50 per cent levies on steel and aluminium.
Only the UK has been able to secure a partial exemption from Mr Trump's sweeping tariffs.
A key UK concession was scrapping its 20 per cent imposts on American beef and raising the import quota to 13,000 metric tonnes.
But with many British goods still subject to tariffs, analysts have questioned whether the deal was worth it.
The Albanese government has also found fierce resistance to even the prospect of changing Australian biosecurity laws.
The US has trade surpluses with both the UK and Australia.
Though, unlike the UK, Australia has a free-trade agreement with the US, meaning goods should be traded mostly uninhibited.
Senator Wong refused to 'speculate' if bumping up Australian defence spending — which the US has demanded be hiked to 3.5 per cent of GDP — would be on the table.
'We'll always do what is required to keep Australians safe,' she said.
'We've invested more money in defence over the next few years, and also forward over the (next) ten.'
Senator Wong added that the Albanese government was 'very aware of the circumstances Australia faces' and that building up ties with Pacific neighbours was key to the strategy.
'A great part of my job is to work with other countries because those relationships contribute to stability and security in our region, which is where stability, security and ultimately our prosperity come from,' she said.
More to come.
Originally published as Penny Wong spruiks PM's gift of the gab ahead of high stakes Trump meet