Australia hurting the USA aluminium market?

Donald Trump’s top trade adviser has taken a swipe at Australia, accusing it of “killing” the US aluminium market—just as the Aussie government was hoping for an exemption from the president’s hefty new tariffs.

Trump officially signed off on a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, saying it was all about boosting local US industry. The move came right after a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had been pushing for Australia to be spared.

Albanese said Trump had promised to give “consideration” to an exemption. But just hours later, speaking at the White House, Trump seemed to shut the door on that idea, declaring there would be “no exceptions.” Still, when pressed about Australia, he softened a little, saying he’d give it “great consideration” and even called Albanese a “very fine man.”

But Trump’s trade team wasn’t holding back. “Australia is just killing our aluminium market,” Trump said, claiming that after Joe Biden’s previous agreement to limit exports, Australia had flooded the US with aluminium anyway.

He pointed out that while the US aluminium industry is struggling at 50% capacity, Australia’s is sitting at a much healthier 90%.

The official tariff proclamation from the White House doubled down on the criticism, accusing Australia of ignoring its “verbal commitment” to keep exports at a reasonable level. It even claimed that in 2024, Aussie aluminium imports into the US had surged by a massive 103% compared to previous years.

With Trump’s tough talk and no clear exemption in sight, it looks like Australia could be in for a battle over trade in the coming months.