Donald Trump has hit Australian exports with new trade tariffs, claiming the country is not doing enough to combat forced labour, but the Albanese government has demanded he remove them immediately.
The United States announced on Friday morning (AEST) that many Australian exports now attract a new ۱۲.۵% tariff as part of a broader regime affecting dozens of countries.
In a statement, the US trade department said Australia was on a list of ۵۴ economies it deemed as having “failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor”. Other countries facing a ۱۲.۵% tariff include Brazil, China, Egypt, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and Singapore.
Other economies on a separate list – including the UK, India, Indonesia, Canada and Mexico – will be subject to a lower ۱۰% tariff after the US claimed they had only failed to “enforce” forced labour prohibitions.
The American trade action document claims “the United States is the only country in the world to adopt, and effectively enforce, a ban on imports made with forced labor”.
“President Trump is asking all trading partners to join the United States in eliminating forced labor from global supply chains.”
In total the tariffs apply “to the top ۶۰ U.S. trade partners covering ۹۹.۴% of U.S. imports”, according to a trade department statement.
The Australian trade minister, Don Farrell, immediately pushed back on the tariffs and called for the US to change course.
“These tariffs are unjustified, inconsistent with our free-trade agreement and should be removed,” Farrell said.
“Australia’s measures to combat forced labour and modern slavery are among the strongest in the world and we are recognised globally, including in the US, for our leadership.”
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, told ABC radio the US actions “make no sense”.
“Forced labour is definitely something which needs to be combated around the world, so we support that objective,” he said. “But we have laws, which are amongst the strongest in the world, and we’ve been making that point to the Trump administration.
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“We want to see freer trade and more trade flows between Australia and the United States. Both of our countries benefit from that. We continue to make that argument to the Trump administration, both in terms of trade but also in terms of our stance in relation to forced labour, and that’ll continue to be our position and the way in which we advocate.”
The US trade action document that sets out the new tariffs includes exemptions for a range of goods including beef; agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits; aircraft parts; certain coal, oil, mineral and chemical products; some metal and steel products; timber products; and machinery.
The document says it will apply to goods entering from ۱۲.۰۱am US eastern time on ۲۴ July (۲pm Aest) except for goods that had been loaded on to a vessel before that time and which enter before ۱۲.۰۱am eastern on ۲۸ July.
The action, as it pertains to Australia specifically, states that after an investigation, “the Trade Representative has determined to impose ۱۲.۵ percent tariffs on products of Australia” except for a limited number of exemptions.
“The Trade Representative has determined, in accordance with the specific direction of the President, that the tariff rate to be applied, and the scope of tariffs and exemptions are appropriate to obtain the elimination of the acts, policies, and practices determined to be actionable in the investigation” – that is, the claims of not doing enough to deal with forced labour.
More to come …
