US Official Accuses Australia of Aluminium Dumping Amid Tariff Dispute

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has taken a swing at Australia, calling it a "dumper" of underpriced aluminium as local politicians scramble to secure an exemption from newly imposed US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

"You've got dumpers in the rest of the world. Japan dumps steel, China dumps steel," Lutnick told Fox Business. "We're going to stop that nonsense and bring steel here. We're not going to stand for China dumping, Japan dumping—Australia does a lot of aluminium at below cost."

Lutnick backed former President Donald Trump's decision to impose the tariffs, saying he was simply "protecting America."

For Australia, the move is a blow—though steel and aluminium exports to the US only make up around 0.2% of the nation’s total exports, the tariffs still sting.

This morning, opposition leader Peter Dutton vowed to "get a deal done" with Trump if he were elected, slamming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to secure an exemption.

"I just think he's out of his depth," Dutton told. "I completely and utterly disagree with the decision President Trump’s made, but it’s up to our prime minister to stand up for our country’s interests."

He pointed out that during Trump’s first term, the Coalition government did manage to negotiate an exemption—though it took about a year.

"If I'm elected as Prime Minister, I’ll get a deal done with the White House," Dutton said. "And we’ll make sure that we can protect jobs and protect industry."

Albanese, for his part, hasn’t held back, calling the tariff decision "unjustified" and "not a friendly act." He did speak with Trump last month, with the former president later calling him "a very fine man" and promising to give the issue "great consideration." But in the end, the White House confirmed yesterday that there would be no exemptions for anyone—including Australia.

Dutton and other critics have slammed Albanese for not travelling to the US personally to push for an exemption, pointing out that he’s the only Quad leader who hasn’t visited the US since Trump’s return to office.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong hit back, saying a trip wouldn’t have made a difference—especially since Quad partners India and Japan didn’t get exemptions either.

"Part of what the Trump administration has said this time is that they made a mistake when they gave exemptions to their tariffs in their first term," Wong told. "So part of why they have not given exemptions to Australia—or any other country—is they think they made a mistake in their first term."

For now, the Albanese government says they’ll keep negotiating. Whether that changes anything remains to be seen.