Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on 28 March 2025. Photo: Mike Bowers / AFP
Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese says he expects to have a one-on-one discussion with US President Donald Trump on tariffs, as Washington prepares to announce new tariffs on its trading partners on 2 April.
There are concerns Australia could be impacted by the looming escalation in the Trump administration's global trade war when it unveils the reciprocal tariffs on so-called "liberation day".
Trump this month imposed steel and aluminium tariffs that affect Australian exports.
US President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order on reciprocal tariffs in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on 13 February 2025. Photo: AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds
Albanese, speaking on Sunday (local time), the second full day of campaigning ahead of a 3 May general election in Australia, said his government had engaged "very constructively" with US officials on tariffs, ahead of the expected 2 April announcement.
Asked about the possibility of speaking with Trump on the issue, Albanese said: "We'll have a one-on-one discussion".
"A couple of weeks ago, the reason why that didn't occur was because the president made a decision to not talk to anyone and impose this regime on every country," Albanese added, in remarks televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp from Canberra.
A key issue in Australia's election campaign is which leader - Albanese or the Liberal-National coalition's Peter Dutton - would best handle relations with Trump, who exempted Australia from US tariffs on steel and aluminium during his first presidential term.
Photo: RNZ / AFP
Albanese has previously said his centre-left Labor government is "engaging on a daily basis" with the Trump administration over tariffs, pointing to his two phone calls with the US president and early meetings between the two countries' defence and foreign ministers.
Also on Sunday, Albanese's government pledged to crack down on price gouging by the nation's supermarkets, as part of the five-week election campaign in which the cost of living also is a central issue.
Albanese on Saturday touted Labor's credentials on affordable healthcare.
The government is running neck-and-neck in opinion polls with the National-Liberal coalition, which has campaigned on a housing crisis that it claims is putting home ownership out of reach. Longer-term, the coalition wants to adopt nuclear power in the country.
After enjoying a healthy lead for much of his term, Albanese's approval ratings are now near those of Dutton, a former police officer and the defence minister in the last conservative government.
-Reuters
