Australia is “killing” the US aluminum market, said president Donald Trump, In a possible blow to the efforts of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to ensure an exemption from tariffs that will take effect next month.
The comments occurred after Albanese and Trump spoke on Tuesday, and the prime minister said that the president had agreed to consider an exemption to Australia of American tariffs on steel and aluminum. Albanese, who must celebrate elections before May 17, has been under intense pressure of local legislators and executives to obtain exemptions.
During Trump’s first mandate, Australia undertook months of thorough negotiations with Washington to avoid similar taxes.
But Peter Navarro, the president’s main advisor for commerce and manufacturing, He accused Australian exporters on Tuesday to flood the US market in contravention of the agreement between the two nations.
“Australia is ending our aluminum market,” Navarro told CNNaccording to a transcription. “President Trump says no, no, that we will no longer do it.”
This week, Trump ordered 25% tariffs to all imports of steel and aluminum from March 12, Without exemptions, although he added that he would “consider” some possible margin of maneuver for Australia.
Trump’s proclamation that accompanies the measure to impose import tariffs showed that the volume of American imports Primary aluminum from Australia increased to approximately 103% higher by 2024 than the average volume from 2015 to 2017, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
“They simply flood our markets,” Navarro said about Australian aluminum exports. “That’s what we are facing. Our aluminum industry is in trouble. ”
The Australian treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said on Wednesday that some of the events under discussion date from almost a decade ago, referring to the exemption obtained by the previous Government of Centrodécha de Australia.
“The Australians, in particular those of the steel and aluminum industries, expect us to focus on what we have ahead,” Chalmers said in an interview with Channel 9. “And that is why the positive and productive conversation that Prime Minister Albanese had yesterday with President Trump is so important.”
Aluminum is the main manufactured export product of Australia, but the United States represented only 2.4% of shipments in 2024, according to government data. The challenge could be greater for the country’s steel sector: The United States represents about 30% of steel exports and Australian steel products.
Bloomberg Economics considers that it is unlikely that American tariff And he adds that the increase that accompanies them in political uncertainty can weigh on the investment decisions of companies and damage business trust.
