Albanese Condemns US Tariff Plan, Calls It Unjustified and Inconsistent

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has protested against the United States’ plan to impose additional tariffs of 10 to 12.5 per cent on imported goods from at least 60 countries, including Australia, on the grounds of alleged forced labour in production. “There is an ideological difference where the United States government has violated an understanding that has been in place for decades — that tariffs do not have a positive impact on the country that imposes them,” Albanese stated in an ABC report on Thursday (4/6). A previously proposed 10 per cent tariff on Australian imported goods was struck down by the US Supreme Court last February. Albanese stressed that any tariff imposed on Australian exports to the US is an act that is “unjustified and inconsistent” with the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that binds the two allied nations. “Such tariffs actually increase the cost of goods and services for consumers in the country that imposes them… whereas free trade is in the interest of the global economy,” Albanese said. “This policy was issued without prior notice. One of the things we expect in international relations is certainty. Australia and the United States are important allies,” he added. Concluding his statement, Albanese lamented the shifting dynamics of US policy, which continue to harm its trading partners. “It is very regrettable that a rolling series of decisions — some of which change from time to time — all have a common thread, which is that the United States is now a proponent of tariff policies,” he said. Echoing PM Albanese, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell also described the US tariff plan as “unfair”. The protest was conveyed directly during a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) meeting in Paris on Wednesday evening (3/6).