“President Trump is implementing the agenda he said he would, so that is no surprise,” she told reporters on Monday morning.

So how will the tariffs ultimately flow through to the Australian economy?

Why is Trump imposing tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico?

Buhui Qiu, professor of business and finance at the University of Sydney Business School, told SBS News the tariffs were being used as “a lever for Trump to ask those countries to enhance border security”.

“Tax imports from those big trading partners, they’re going to generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue to basically help fill the US budget deficit,” he said.

How will Trump’s tariffs impact the Australian economy?

“I think the impact on Australia at the moment is relatively small directly. It’ll be about — do things that wind up in Australia go through supply chains that are hit by these tariffs?”

“So think everything from Wagyu beef and lobsters and red wine to university education and financial and professional services,” he said.

Australia has exported $612 million worth of wine to mainland China in the six months since the tariffs were lifted, according to Wine Australia figures. Credit: AP

“That’ll take a little time to kick in and feed through … a three to six-month horizon. But it’s soon enough to be concerning,” Holden said.

Qiu said this included Chinese demand for Australian minerals and market volatility, which caused Australia’s dollar to fall below 61 US cents on Monday.

Does Australia have any negotiating advantages?

He agreed with Wong’s remarks, stating that Australia was in Trump’s “good books”.

“We need to build stronger relationships with Japan, Korea, and other countries in the region … Basically build up our own economic resilience.”