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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

Australia Calls US Anti-Slavery Tariffs an 'Ideological Disagreement'

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated an "ideological disagreement" with the US over planned 12.5% tariffs on Australian exports.
  • The US tariffs aim to penalize countries for failing to prevent slavery and forced labor in their exports.
  • Albanese argued the tariffs are "unjustified," inconsistent with free trade agreements, and harm US consumers and the global trading system.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared an "ideological disagreement" between Australia and the United States following the US's announcement of a 12.5% tariff on Australian exports. This move is part of a broader US plan to impose tariffs on dozens of countries allegedly failing to take adequate action against slavery and forced labor.

There is an ideological disagreement where the United States administration has broken with what was a decades-long understanding that tariffs are not positive for the country that is imposing them.

— Anthony AlbanesePrime Minister of Australia, explaining the disagreement over US tariffs.

The new tariffs are set to replace a 10% temporary import surcharge that expires on July 24. Mr. Albanese criticized the tariffs as "unjustified and inconsistent" with existing free trade agreements between the two allied nations. He asserted that such tariffs increase costs for consumers in the imposing country and undermine the global economy.

They increase the cost of goods and services in the country that is applying them to its consumers, and … free trade is in the interests of the global economy.

— Anthony AlbanesePrime Minister of Australia, criticizing the economic impact of tariffs.

US Ambassador to Australia Jamieson Greer defended the tariffs, arguing that the alleged failure to ban products made with forced labor creates an "unlevel playing field" for American workers. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell conveyed Australia's position that the tariffs are unwarranted during a meeting with Ambassador Greer on the sidelines of the OECD meeting in Paris.

American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field.

— Jamieson GreerUS Ambassador to Australia, justifying the tariffs.

Prime Minister Albanese highlighted that Australia has world-leading legislation addressing forced labor and modern slavery, passed with unanimous parliamentary support. He also pointed out that Australia maintains a trade surplus with the US, meaning it imports more than it exports. Albanese stressed that the tariffs are detrimental not only to US consumers but also to the international trading system, emphasizing the need for certainty in global trade relations.

the tariffs were 'unjustified'.

— Don FarrellAustralian Trade Minister, stating Australia's position to the US Ambassador.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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