Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Correction: Gold, Trump's tariff rescue: Australia’s record gold exports to US set back its case for tariff relief as Trump trade war looms

Industries across the country are bracing for the impact of the Trump administration’s worldwide tariff regime

Ben Doherty
Wed 12 Mar 2025 01.00 AEDT

A run on gold in the US – fanned by fears of a global trade war – has given Australia its first trade surplus with the US in decades, undermining the government’s key argument for exemption from Donald Trump’s impending global tariff regime.

Australia will reportedly be included in a comprehensive global tariff regime of 25% on aluminium and steel imports from Wednesday, which is set to expand to other sectors, such as agriculture and pharmaceuticals, in coming months.

The White House briefed Australian media on Wednesday that Trump had listened to Australian requests for an exemption and “considered it, and considered against it”.

Steel and aluminium are minor exports to the US for Australia but other sectors Trump has vowed to target, including pharmaceuticals and agriculture, are significantly more exposed.

The dangerous folly of Australia’s come-what-may sycophancy towards Trump is on full display
Paul Daley
[[...]The greatest absurdity in Australia’s political discourse about the second Trump administration is the mantra that America perpetually remains a “reliable ally’’.
P - Trump’s United States is no longer Australia’s dependable big buddy as it was since the second world war. All those imperial conflicts Australia trailed Washington into (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan) for “alliance maintenance’’ mean nothing to an expansionist Trump who treats far more geo-politically important supposed friends, like Canada, with blatant contempt.]
Read more > https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/05/the-dangerous-folly-of-australias-come-what-may-sycophancy-towards-trump-is-on-full-display

Australia is continuing to press for exemptions. A government spokesperson said on Wednesday morning it would have “more to say” on the issue.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/12/australias-record-gold-exports-to-us-set-back-its-case-for-tariff-relief-as-trump-trade-war-looms

Things change quickly these days.