Albo blusters, Dutton cosies up and Bandt wants out of AUKUS: Reactions to Trump trade war

Anthony Albanese has threatened to use “dispute resolution” capabilities, which could include Australia taking the US to the World Trade Organization (WTO), in response to Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs announced this morning.

At a press conference called in reaction to the US president’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, Albanese said he would not engage in a “race to the bottom” by imposing retaliatory tariffs on US goods. 

“The Australian people have every right to view this action by the Trump administration as undermining our free and fair trading relationship,” Albanese said. “Our existing Free Trade Agreement with the United States contains dispute resolution mechanisms. We want to resolve this issue without resorting to using these.”

ABC News reported on Wednesday the Albanese government had made preparations to go to the WTO while awaiting Trump’s final decision. 

It’s understood a reelected Labor government would seek to make several other moves in response to the tariffs: 

• Investing $5 million to support the Anti-Dumping Commission in order to protect Australia’s steel and aluminium industries
• Providing $50 million in financial support to affected industries
• Offering $1 billion of zero interest loans to impacted business sectors 
• Establishing a critical minerals strategic reserve

Labor is also planning a new requirement for the government to prioritise Australian businesses when procuring goods and services.

Speaking on Wednesday ahead of the US announcement, Albanese said Australian policies like the news bargaining code and biosecurity protections were “not up for negotiation”. Both had been singled out by the Trump administration in a trade report earlier in the week. 

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he backed Albanese in response to the tariffs.

“Well, I’m happy to stand shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister to make sure that we send a very clear message to the Americans that we don’t find this acceptable at all, and we are a trusted, reliable trading partner with the United States,” he told radio station 2GB on Thursday morning. 

“But we need to have a capacity to stand up and negotiate and to arrive at the best possible outcome for our country. And that’s, I think, in part, what this election is about.”

A few hours later, however, Dutton appeared to have changed his tune.

“The times at the moment don’t require a weak leader, and Mr Albanese has demonstrated that again today,” Dutton told reporters in Perth.

Dutton said he believed Australia’s defence relationship with the US, including the AUKUS submarine pact and the ANZUS treaty, would help “resolve this matter”.

Greens leader Adam Bandt responded to the tariff news on X with a two-word statement: “End AUKUS.”

He followed up with another post saying “today should be Australia’s liberation day — when we finally liberate ourselves from being shackled too closely to Trump”.

“Trump is dangerous. It’s time for Labor [and the Liberals] to act. Let’s cancel AUKUS and set our own independent foreign policy,” Bandt wrote.

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie also said Australia should pull out of AUKUS, telling ABC Melbourne: “What a waste of money … what should [the government] do? I tell you, they can say, ‘you’re not getting any of our critical minerals’, because everybody’s screaming out for them.” 

“The other thing is, you’ve just had a new rotation of US troops. You can tell them there’ll be no rotations after this one. They can get straight off home soil,” Lambie continued. 

Australia’s free trade deal with the US was signed in 2004 by John Howard and George W. Bush, and Australian goods previously flowed into the US without tariffs. 

NAB analysts believe the tariffs would not have any “large direct macro impacts” on Australia, ABC News reported. 

“The most exposed Australian industries are related to our largest export products (beef, gold and other metals, and pharmaceuticals) and their domestic supply chains,” the analysts said. “Heightened global uncertainty and the risk of tariff escalation will weigh on global growth.”

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