Albanese and Trump to Convene at the White House

9News and Today have confirmed the two leaders will have their first official sit-down in Washington DC on October 20.

The confirmation comes after Albanese was left off a list of world leaders set to meet with Trump this week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Despite having shared four phone calls mutually described as amicable, the pair have yet to meet face to face, though it is possible Albanese will speak with Trump at a reception held for world leaders in New York today (tonight US time).

The lack of face-time with the US president has been something Albanese’s political opponents have seized on, particularly in the face of a Pentagon review of the AUKUS pact, as well as ongoing tariffs on Australian exports to the US.

AUKUS is likely to be high on Albanese’s agenda for the meeting in October after members of Trump’s administration expressed scepticism over the deal’s value.

Australia has already begun delivering payments for nuclear-powered submarines from the US, but there have been calls in Washington for the delivery of the subs to be made conditional on Australia’s support in a hypothetical US war with China.

The federal government is also likely to seek an exemption to Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

Besides those, Australia has not been singled out for any special tariff imposition, but it is unlikely Trump will rescind them entirely.