Chalmers delivered his major economic speech in Brisbane on Tuesday, one week ahead of the federal budget.

A time of ‘serious volatility’

“We’ve seen extreme market volatility in the US and elsewhere as a consequence,” he said.

While tariffs will directly impact Australian gross domestic product (GDP) by less than 0.02 per cent by 2030, the indirect consequences could result in a 0.1 per cent hit to GDP by the end of the decade, according to Treasury estimates.

Decision to tariff Australia ‘senseless and wrong’

He said the “whole world has changed” and that this had been accelerating since inauguration day, adding that the rules that “underpinned global economic engagement for more than 40 years are being rewritten”.

Chalmers added that these trade restrictions will lead to less growth and more inflation and will impact multiple industries and quarters.

Chalmers urges resilience, not retaliation

“Our response to this will not be a race to the bottom on tariffs. We’ll go for more resilience, not more retaliation.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has labelled Albanese as “weak” and said he could “get a deal done with the Trump administration” should he be elected.

— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press