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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
PM hopeful of Donald Trump meet, vows to talk tariffs
Anthony Albanese has vowed to talk tariffs with Donald Trump when they meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada later this month. NewsWire understands the details of the leaders' first face-to-face have not been set but both sides expect them to meet. The Prime Minister said on Tuesday he 'certainly will' raise Australia's inclusion in sweeping tariffs. 'This is 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,' Mr Albanese told the ABC. Australia was included in the Trump administration's blanket 25 per cent tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium in March. The US President had promised a Canberra carve out was 'under consideration'. Australia was also hit with 10 per cent levies on most goods as part of Mr Trump's 'Liberation Day' imposts. Asked what it was like to deal with Mr Trump's unpredictability, Mr Albanese said being 'consistent and clear and unambiguous' was key. 'I've had three really constructive discussions with President Trump, but it's important that you don't jump around and take different positions from day to day,' he said. 'That's what my government is ensuring that we do. 'We do have a clear, consistent position on wanting free and fair trade. 'We do have a position which is to support the US (free trade agreement). 'We continually remind our American friends that America enjoys the benefit of a trade surplus with Australia, which is why it makes no sense to undermine trade between Australia and the United States.' Mr Albanese also pushed back against Washington's demand for Canberra to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Australia's military budget came up during a bilateral meeting between Defence Minister Richard Marles and his US defence counterpart Pete Hegseth over the weekend. In a read out, the US Embassy said the two senior officials 'discussed aligning investment to the security environment in the Indo-Pacific, accelerating US force posture initiatives in Australia, advancing defence industrial base co-operation, and creating supply chain resilience'. 'On defence spending, Secretary Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of its GDP as soon as possible,' the embassy said. Mr Albanese said Australia was 'a sovereign nation' and would decide its own spending commitments. 'We are implementing an increase in our defence expenditure, more than $10bn over the forward estimates, more than $50bn over the medium term,' he said. 'We want to provide Australia with the capability that we need.'
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Trump doubles steel and aluminium tariffs and threatens China and its ‘shoddy' exports in latest trade war escalation
DONALD Trump has announced he will double the tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50 per cent in his latest trade war escalation. It comes after the president's blistering global tariffs were reinstated by a federal appeals court - just a day after they were ruled illegal and sensationally blocked. 1 While addressing workers at a US Steel plant in Pennsylvania, Trump said: "We're going to bring it from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America. "Nobody's going to get around that." Shortly after, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the elevated rate would also apply to aluminum, with the new tariffs "effective Wednesday, June 4th." Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on allies and adversaries alike in moves that have rocked the world trade order. But they became a brief legal setback earlier this week when a court ruled Trump had overstepped his authority. However, an appellate court on Thursday said the tariffs could continue while the litigation moves forward. The Court of Appeals released no official reasoning for the shifting decision. The reinstating of many of the sweeping taxes mean Trump can continue collecting tariffs under emergency powers law for the time being. Trump has always said he will appeal and take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court. Trump memorably held up a board showing rates he was about to set for individual trading partners in the White House's Rose Garden when he announced the tariffs as part of a "liberation day". China was clobbered with 34 per cent tariffs, Vietnam 46 per cent, Thailand 36 per cent and Cambodia 49 per cent. Tariffs on China were eventually increased to a whopping 145 per cent as Trump sought to begin negotiations. Washington and Beijing then signed a trade deal agreement, which Trump has now said was violated by China. .
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Taiwan pledges to buy more American goods as a 32% tariff looms
Taiwan 's president on Tuesday pledged to buy more American goods, including natural gas and oil, as the self-governing island seeks closer ties with the U.S. while threatened with a 32% tariff from the Trump administration. By purchasing more U.S. products that also include weapons and agricultural goods, Taiwan would not only create 'more balanced bilateral trade' with the U.S. but also boost its energy autonomy and resilience, said Lai Ching-te, the island's leader, while hosting a U.S. congressional delegation. Lai also said the island would be willing to participate in U.S. efforts to reindustrialize and to lead the world in artificial intelligence. Rep. Bruce Westerman, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, told Lai that the U.S. produces a lot of food and fiber and is 'always looking for more friends to share that with.' Trade and economic ties between Taiwan and the U.S. have grown closer in recent years. The island faces rising pressure from China, which sees the island as part of Chinese territory and vows to annex it, by force if necessary. Washington is bound by its own laws to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself, and politicians — both Republicans and Democrats — have come to believe it is in the U.S. interest to deter Beijing from attacking Taiwan. Many policymakers and analysts have argued that arming Taiwan includes not only weapons sales but closer economic and trade ties so the island is less vulnerable to economic coercion from the mainland. The U.S. is now the top destination for Taiwan's foreign investments, including $165 billion by Taiwan's semiconductor giant TSMC to build factories in Arizona to make advanced chips. The island also is the 7th largest market for U.S. agricultural exports, Lai said. However, the U.S. buys far more from Taiwan and had a trade deficit of $116.3 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The 32% tariff, as proposed by President Donald Trump as part of his sweeping tariff plan, is on hold except a 10% baseline duty. Earlier this month, Lai downplayed the trade tensions between the U.S. and Taiwan as 'frictions between friends.' The congressional delegation stopped in Taipei as part of the group's larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region through Thursday, according to American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. diplomatic mission on the island.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Bets the Worst of Trump's Trade War Is Behind It
Wall Street is betting that the worst of President Trump's trade war is in the rearview mirror. The latest example came Tuesday, when news of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and the EU powered a 2% increase in the S&P 500. It was the largest single-day gain since May 12, when a rollback of tariffs between the U.S. and China spurred an even larger market rally.
CNA
6 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Japan proposes to buy US chip products in tariff talks, Asahi says
TOKYO :Japan has proposed purchasing billions of dollars worth of U.S. semiconductor products during ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing an unidentified source. The Japanese government plans to subsidize domestic companies that buy the U.S. chips from companies such as Nvidia, with potential imports reaching up to 1 trillion yen ($6.94 billion), aimed at reducing America's roughly 10 trillion yen trade deficit with Japan, the report said. Japan's top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa intends to visit the United States around May 30 for a fourth round of trade talks. ($1 = 144.1700 yen)
