Turnbull Says Australia Won’t Self-Censor to Appease Trump

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who managed to secure a tariff exemption from Donald Trump back in 2018, has now weighed in on the Albanese government's chances of repeating that success when US tariffs kick in this week. In a tense interview with National, Turnbull made it clear that the current situation is very different from 2018 and doesn't think Australia will get the same treatment this time around.

Turnbull said, "This time there will be no exemptions. They will apply across the board," referring to the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US. While he acknowledged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ambassador Kevin Rudd have worked hard to argue for an exemption, he expressed doubts it would be enough, adding, "I hope they are successful, but it’s just a different circumstance."

He also pointed out that while the tariffs would certainly hurt Australian steel and aluminium exporters, they'd still have access to the global market. The bigger issue, he said, was the wider impact of Trump's trade wars on the global economy.

Turnbull’s comments came after a bit of a public spat with Trump. On Monday, Trump took to social media to call Turnbull weak and ineffective, following an interview where Turnbull described Trump as "chaotic, rude, abrasive, and erratic." Turnbull didn't back down and responded to questioning about his remarks potentially undermining Australia's case for an exemption by asking, "Are you suggesting that we should engage in self-censorship in Australia for fear of offending the huge ego of Donald Trump?" He added, "We should be free to speak the truth."

He even pointed to the approach of Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took a strong stand against Trump during his campaign, as an example of how to handle things. When the interviewer pushed back, saying it was her job to ask tough questions, Turnbull didn’t shy away. He said, "I secured an exemption in 2018. The arguments I successfully used then are being used again, and they're good arguments. They remain the same." But, as he put it, he believed the chances of getting an exemption were very low this time.

Turnbull’s comments seem to undermine the Coalition’s position, with some in the opposition still pushing for Albanese and his team to secure another exemption, citing that the case for Australian exporters is even stronger now than in 2018. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister David Coleman recently said, "We expect the Labor government to succeed in its effort to secure an exemption on US tariffs for steel and aluminium."

It looks like it’s going to be a tense week ahead in the trade negotiations. Let's see how it all plays out.