(Feb 12): Australia is “killing” the US aluminium market, a senior trade adviser to President Donald Trump said, in a potential blow to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s efforts to secure an exemption from tariffs that come into effect next month.

The remarks come after Albanese and Trump spoke by telephone on Tuesday, with the prime minister saying the president had agreed to consider an exemption for Australia from US steel and aluminium tariffs. Albanese, who must hold an election by May 17, has been under intense pressure from local lawmakers and executives to secure the exemptions.

During Trump’s first term, Australia undertook months of painstaking negotiations with Washington to avoid similar imposts.

But Peter Navarro, the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, on Tuesday accused Australian exporters of flooding the US market in contravention of that deal between the two nations.

“Australia is just killing our aluminium market,” Navarro told CNN, according to a transcript. “President Trump says no, no, we’re not, we’re not doing that anymore.”

Trump this week ordered 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports from March 12, with no exemptions, though he did add he would “give consideration” to some possible leeway for Australia.

Trump’s accompanying proclamation to impose the import duties showed that the volume of US imports of primary aluminium from Australia surged to be about 103% higher in 2024 than the average volume for 2015 through 2017, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

“They just flood our markets,” Navarro said of Australia’s aluminium exports. “That’s what we’re dealing with. Our aluminium industry is on its back.”

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Wednesday that some of the events under discussion are from almost a decade ago, referring to the exemption secured by Australia’s former center-right government.

“Australians, particularly in the steel and aluminium industries, would expect us to be focused on what’s in front of us,” Chalmers told Channel 9 in an interview. “And that’s why that positive and productive conversation that Prime Minister Albanese had with President Trump yesterday is so important.”

Aluminium is Australia’s top manufactured export but the US accounted for just 2.4% of shipments in 2024, according to government data. The challenge might be greater for the nation’s steel sector — the US accounts for around 30% of Australia’s steel and steel product exports.

Bloomberg Economics reckons the US tariffs are unlikely to deliver much economic pain on their own for Australia, while adding that the accompanying increase in policy uncertainty may weigh on firms’ investment decisions and hurt business confidence.

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Trump to consider exemption for Australia on steel, aluminium tariffs

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