"Wong to Attend Trump's Inauguration Amidst Significant Context"

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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has accepted an invitation to US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, treating it as a chance to “expand” ties, at a critical moment.

The senator will attend the Washington, DC, event on January 20 (early January 21 AEDT) with Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.

“I am honoured to be invited to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration. It is a demonstration of the steadfast alliance between Australia and the United States,” she said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has accepted an invitation to US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. (Alex Ellinghausen)

“This early visit will be an important opportunity to discuss how we can advance the benefits of our strong economic and security partnership and expand our cooperation.”

World leaders have been waiting for signs of what Trump’s second presidency will bring and Australia is no exception.

The billionaire has captured headlines in recent days for bellicose comments about Canada, Mexico, the Panama Canal and Greenland – particularly his failure to rule out using military or economic action to take control of the latter pair.

Trump has said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

There was no word on specific measures targeting Australia but the potential for an escalating trade war or flow-on effects from a weaker Chinese economy had many experts worried.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) — Trump has said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China, (AP)

“If it becomes a tit-for-tat dynamic where things start to spiral – where countries engage in beggar-thy-neighbour tariff increases to get an advantage over one another – then global trade declines and global welfare declines,” Australian National University Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs Professor Wesley Widmaier told the ANU Reporter last month.

“My sense is other countries have more to lose than the US, and they’re probably going to be more cautious.”

Days after Trump’s election, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the country had “more at stake than most”, sharing treasury modelling predicting a “small reduction” in Australia’s economic growth under Trump and an increase in prices in the short term.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brought up trade in his first conversation with the newly elected Trump and promised to continue to advocate for a “fair trading system”.

“I pointed out that Australia has, or the United States has, a trade surplus with Australia,” he told ABC radio in November.

“So it’s in the United States’ interest to trade fairly with Australia, but it’s also obviously in Australia’s interests.”

Wong’s visit to the US could be a chance for her to further that push on fair trading.

In Trump’s first term, the Turnbull government was able to arrange an exemption from steel and aluminium tariffs but it’s unclear what measures, if any, the foreign minister could or would request this time around.