Tariffs will be top of mind for the prime minister and his Canadian counterpart as the two meet ahead of Anthony Albanese’s highly anticipated talks with Donald Trump.
Mr Albanese will land in Canada on Sunday, local time, for bilateral talks after being invited to the G7 summit by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Both leaders have had to reckon with the impact of the US president’s threatened tariffs on their economies.
But Mr Carney could provide insight for the Australian’s first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump.
Despite vowing to fight back against the tariffs, the Canadian prime minister’s meetings with the US president have been well received by both parties and raised hopes for a fresh trade deal between the two North American nations.
Mr Albanese’s meeting with the Republican president is scheduled for Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit.
The prime minister has taken a less adversarial stance to Mr Trump’s approach than his Canadian peer, preferring to highlight Australia’s long history with the US.
“The combination of Australia and the United States when we’re working together is an unbeatable combination,” he told business leaders in Seattle on Saturday.
Australian imports into the US face 10 per cent tariffs and – like all trading partners except the UK – 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel.
The Labor government is considering using US beef imports and critical minerals as potential bargaining chips as it “engages constructively” with American officials.
Australians’ sense of safety and economic optimism have already plunged, according to the annual Lowy Institute Poll, amid the talk of tariffs, as well as growing conflicts and global disorder.
Their trust in the US has fallen to the lowest level in the history of the decades-long poll, with two-in-three respondents holding little to no trust in the traditional Australian ally.
“Australians are clearly unsettled by what they’ve seen of the second Trump administration,” Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove said.
Mr Albanese previously met the Canadian prime minister on the margins of the Papal inauguration, but this will be their first formal bilateral discussion.
They are also expected to discuss defence, critical minerals, climate change and the escalating situation in the Middle East.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
