During that call, Trump agreed to consider an exemption on tariffs for Australian steel and aluminium, but ultimately granted no country relief. Australia was also hit with a 10 per cent universal tariff in April, along with the United Kingdom and many other US allies.
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Albanese described that decision as having no basis in logic and “not the act of a friend”.
At the most recent leaders’ debate, when asked whether he had Trump’s phone number, Albanese said he was not even sure the president had a mobile phone. Conversations between world leaders were arranged in advanced and took place in secure rooms with aides present, he said.
But Dutton remained critical. “I think the answer was ‘no’ there … We didn’t get it [Trump’s phone number],” he said.
Trump does have a mobile phone. Two journalists from The Atlantic magazine recently reported calling him on a Saturday morning in late March, while he was at his golf club in New Jersey, and he answered despite the number being unfamiliar. “Who’s calling?” he said.
Further detail has been sought from the White House about Trump’s reasons for declining Australia’s calls. An Australian government spokesperson said: “Engagement with the US administration will continue with our government, agencies and embassy officials continuing to advocate for zero tariffs.”
Earlier in the day, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he was responsible for trade deals with countries other than China and expected to strike “incredibly smart, incredibly thoughtful” deals all over the world.
“[Trump] understands if you make a deal with a country, and you give them the parts that they want and they need, they’re going to open their market,” he told CNBC television. “People won’t let us sell chicken, they won’t let us sell beef. It’s all nonsense.”
At a press conference, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to say whether the US was engaged in direct talks with China about tariffs amid the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
“I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of who’s talking to whom,” he said. “But … I believe that for the Chinese, these tariffs are unsustainable.”
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