How Albanese government’s lack of Trump meeting may have helped deal

Labor can take some credit for its approach, but within reason. Just as we stayed quiet, the Americans were not that interested in Australia either. They were focused on their biggest 12 to 18 trading partners (Australia falls just outside this range) and announcing deals with China, the European Union, Mexico and Japan.

The decision to relax import restrictions on US beef was timely and sensible, as much as the government tried to claim it had nothing to do with negotiations with Trump. In numerous public forums, the Americans – including the US trade office, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, several US senators and Trump himself – made it clear that Australia’s “refusal” to take US beef was a big deal. It’s agriculture, it’s farmers, it’s a point of pride.

When Australia rolled over, they sang it from the rooftops, with press releases and social media posts. “We are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that US beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World,” Trump enthused.

Americans like Australia, they have a trade surplus with us, we’re handing over big cheques to help them build submarines, and now they can try to sell us beef. You can call today’s outcome a win for quiet diplomacy, but at the end of the day, it was never really about us.

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We shouldn’t lose sight of the broader significance of Trump’s moves. This is a unilateral assault on free trade, using the bullying might of the US economy, via a fact sheet uploaded to the internet. Unless there was a deal done beforehand, other countries barely got a heads-up.

Sure, Trump is primarily trying to raise revenue and generate leverage, rather than set in train a new wave of worldwide economic protectionism. But if the US can act this way, any other state is entitled to say it can too.

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