Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that US tariffs on Australian steel and aluminum were unjustified, but his government would not retaliate with its own tariffs.US President Donald Trump said last month he was considering a tariff exemption for Australia, a free trade treaty partner that has traded with the United States at a deficit for decades.Australia did secure a tariff exemption with the previous Trump administration in 2018 based on arguments including that Australian steelmaker BlueScope employs thousands of workers in the US.Albanese said he would continue to pursue an Australian exemption. The 2018 exemption took several months to secure, he added.’It has been foreshadowed that no country regardless of its relationship with the United States has been granted an exemption. Such a decision by the Trump administration is entirely unjustified,’ Albanese said.’Tariffs and escalating trade tensions are a form of economic self-harm and a recipe for slower growth and higher inflation. They are paid by the consumers. This is why Australia will not be imposing reciprocal tariffs on the United States,’ Albanese added.The US officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday.
