Donald Trump calls Anthony Albanese a ‘very fine man’ – and hints Australia could be granted an exemption from his tariffs

US President Donald Trump will press ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium exports from all countries – but hinted Australia could be granted an exemption.

‘Today I’m simplifying our tariffs on steel and aluminium,’ Trump said.

‘It’s 25 per cent without exceptions or exemptions.’

When asked about potential retaliation from other countries, Trump said: ‘I don’t mind’.

Despite his comments, Trump hinted Australia could be granted an exemption after he spoke with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier today.

‘I told him that that’s something that we’ll give great consideration to,’ Trump said.

Trump also called Mr Albanese a ‘very fine man’, and said that the United States has a trade surplus with Australia.

‘We have a surplus with Australia. One of the few. And the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes. They’re rather far away and they need lots of airplanes. We actually have a surplus,’ Trump said.

Trump called Mr Albanese a ‘very fine man’ 

Earlier today Mr Albanese said he was confident a deal could be made with Trump to secure special status for Australia free from the trade tariffs. 

‘I presented Australia’s case for an exemption, and we agreed on wording to say publicly – which is that the US President agreed that an exemption was under consideration in the interests of both of our countries,’ Mr Albanese said.

‘We’ll continue to engage quite clearly, constructively. 

‘If you have a look at what we’ve achieved already, it’s been a tremendous start to the relationship. Penny Wong [was] invited to the inauguration [and] Richard Marles sat down with the secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, just on the weekend.’ 

Mr Albanese highlighted that his call was among Trump’s first with world leaders since his inauguration. 

‘We have a USD$2trillion economy here. [Super] funds are looking at international investment as well as investment here in Australia,’ Mr Albanese said, hinting they could be a source for capital investment in the US.’

Trump imposed similar tariffs on steel and aluminium during his first term in 2018, but Australia was able to secure an exemption from the measure shortly after it was enacted. 

Speaking after signing an executive order enacting the tariffs, Trump said the measure would bolster manufacturing in the US.

‘It’s going to bring our aluminium business back and make it go higher. It may go higher,’ he said.