Peter Dutton criticizes Anthony Albanese for being 'weak' on US tariffs

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United States President Donald Trump has announced a “historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world”, set to impact multiple industries across the globe.

The tariffs will go into effect on 5 April.

Trump later brought out a chart outlining the amount of reciprocal tariffs each country around the world would have.

“For nations that treat us badly, we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, non-monetary barriers and other forms of cheating, and because we are being very kind, we’re kind people … we will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us,” he said.

“So the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal — I could have done that — but it would have been tough for a lot of countries. We didn’t want to do that.”

“I call this kind reciprocal. This is not full reciprocal.”

Donald Trump holding a sign outlining tariffs for each country.

US President Donald Trump has announced “kind” reciprocal tariffs globally, including a 10 per cent base tariff on Australia. Source: Getty / Chip Somodevilla

While some parts of the announcement were vague, he did announce a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on “all foreign-made automobiles”.

According to a White House release, the tariffs will remain in effect until “President Trump determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying nonreciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved, or mitigated.”

How much will each country be tariffed?

Australia will be hit with a blanket 10 per cent base tariff. This is the global baseline and the smallest tariff implemented.

According to the chart, the tariffs hitting each country will be:

Australia: 10 per cent
China: 34 per cent
European Union: 20 per cent
Vietnam: 46 per cent
Taiwan: 32 per cent
Japan: 24 per cent
India 26 per cent
South Korea 25 per cent
Thailand 36 per cent
Japan: 24 per cent
Israel: 17 per cent

Norfolk Island, a small Australian island in the South Pacific Ocean, was earmarked for a tariff of 29 per cent but a spokeswoman for the Administrator of the island told SBS News that .

The Heard and McDonald Islands, both uninhabited Australian external territories inaccessible by airplane, have also been included in the tariffs. The islands are home to seals, penguins, and birds — but no people.

Canada and Mexico were exempt from tariffs. Meanwhile, Cuba, Belarus, North Korea and Russia were also exempt as “they are already facing extremely high tariffs”.

Australian beef in the firing lines

Australia earned a direct mention from Trump, hinting that he will reciprocate Australia’s ban on fresh beef imports.

“Australia bans — and they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef,” he said.

“Yet, we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers,” Trump said.

“I don’t blame them, but they’re doing the same thing right now starting at midnight tonight, I would say.”

He also ruled out any exemptions unless countries agreed to “terminate your own tariffs”.

SBS News understands there is no ban on Australian beef, just the 10 per cent blanket tariff.

‘This is not the act of a friend’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded to Trump’s tariff plan on Thursday morning, saying the move was not surprising but “totally unwarranted”.

“The unilateral action that the Trump administration has taken today against every nation in the world does not come as a surprise. For Australia, these tariffs are not expected, but let me be clear — they are totally unwarranted,” he said.

“[US] President Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be zero, not 10 per cent. The administration’s tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nations’ partnership. This is not the act of a friend.”

Albanese then ruled out imposing reciprocal tariffs against the US.

“Today’s uncertainty in the global economy and it will push up costs for American households. It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs. This is why our government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs,” he said.

“We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”

Putting the impact of the tariffs into perspective, Albanese said trade with the US accounted for less than 5 per cent of Australian exports, but said other countries in the world — including Asian countries closer to home — would be hit hardest by the sweeping tariffs.

Australia’s fourth most valuable export market is the US.

‘Significant failing’

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said Australia needs to “negotiate hard” with the Trump administration while criticising Albanese for his inability to secure a phone call with Trump in recent weeks, calling it a “significant failing”.

“I think in the end what we need to be able to do is to sit down with the administration and negotiate hard on our country’s behalf,” Dutton told 2GB radio.

“There has been no significant leader-to-leader negotiation … we need to be strong and stand up for our country’s interests.”

Dutton said “the US requires Australian beef” and they “can’t produce enough beef to satisfy domestic consumption”.

In a press conference late Thursday morning, Dutton continued the shots at Albanese, saying: “The prime minister has been weak and missing in action. That’s why we find ourselves in the position we’re in today.”

Anthony Albanese wearing a suit with a yellow tie, standing in front of Australian flat

Peter Dutton criticised Anthony Albanese over US tariffs. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

Dutton said he believed he could have achieved a different outcome than the Albanese government and said he was more capable of “fighting” Trump than his opposition.

“It involves making sure that we can stand up and fight for our position … I don’t think the prime minister has the strength or ability to stand up to a situation that is unacceptable to us,” he said.

“The times at the moment don’t require a weak leader.”

Dutton said he had the “ability” to reach the Trump administration, earlier criticising Albanese for not being able to lock in a phone call or a meeting with the US leader.

However, when asked if he could remove the tariffs if elected as prime minister, Dutton said that his team offered “stability” and the “ability to manage the economy”, and hinted at bargaining chips such as defence.

“There are other elements of the relationship that are important to the United States and to us, in our mutual best interests, around the defence relationship and the trade relationship, including on beef more broadly.”

“We’re not trading anything away. We want to enhance the relationship and I believe we’re the only alternative at this election that can achieve a better outcome.”

He also warned that the impending tariffs would affect jobs here at home: “Jobs will be lost and there will be economic detriment to our country.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud said his immediate reaction was “deep disappointment” and echoed Dutton’s criticism of Albanese.

“We’re a trusted partner with the United States, and we stand with the government in opposing this,” Littleproud told ABC News.

“What we need is a relationship reset. We’ve got a prime minister who can’t even get a phone call with the president. That’s because of the personal disparaging comments he made in the past.”

‘Every Australian should be disappointed’

Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) said the council is “deeply disappointed by the size and scale of global tariffs imposed by the United States on Australia and other trading nations”.

“The United States is a long-standing friend and ally, and we’ve historically stood together through thick and thin, so every Australian should be disappointed by these tariffs,” Black said.

“We’ll continue to engage with Australian businesses and directly with our contacts and counterparts in Washington DC with a view to securing the exemption from these tariffs that our nation deserves.

“There are so many reasons why Australia should be exempt from any tariffs, including that the US has a trade surplus with us and the existence of long-standing cultural and military ties between our countries, especially now with the AUKUS agreement.”

While the head of the European Union’s executive has warned of retaliation tariffs, the BCA said it didn’t support this type of reaction.

“We don’t support retaliatory tariffs and strongly urge against them because there are no winners in a trade war, which would only risk making our situation worse by forcing Australians to pay more and reducing job security,” Black said.

“As a trading nation, free and open access to global markets is critical for Australia, especially as one in every four of our nation’s jobs relies on trade.”

Other countries vow retaliation

China has urged the US to drop the tariffs against them, vowing that it would introduce “countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests”.

China, which was hit with a 34 per cent tariff — on top of the 20 per cent imposed by Trump earlier this year — said it “firmly opposes” the tariffs and would “take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, said the EU was prepared to respond with countermeasures if negotiations failed.

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