Challenging the US at the World Trade Organisation over Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs remains an option for Australia.
The US president announced a plan to double levies on foreign steel from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, which come into effect this week.
Australian goods are subject to a 10 per cent baseline tariff.
The move has been branded an act of “economic self-harm” by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is expected to sit down with the American leader on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada later in June.
Mr Trump’s deepening trade war is considered destabilising to the framework that has benefited middle powers such as Australia.
Asked if Australia will consider challenging the tariffs at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), cabinet minister Chris Bowen told the ABC on Sunday: “I’m sure we will consider all options available to defend the best interests of Australian industry.”
Announcing the steel and aluminium tariffs earlier in 2025, Mr Trump committed to imposing them “without exceptions or exemptions” in a bid to help shield domestic industries.
The Albanese government has ruled out retaliation against the US as it tries to chart a path to securing an exemption for Australian goods.
Action includes taking the nation’s closest security ally to the WTO, as it did with China when punitive trade sanctions were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic when diplomatic relations hit a low.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said the government would continue to coolly and calmly argue its case for the removal of the tariffs.
Canada has already taken the US to the body, which determines trade rules.
In Mr Trump’s first term, the US president gave Australia exemptions on the argument the US has a trade surplus with the nation.
It took Australia nine months of lobbying before it secured an exemption.
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