Penny Wong Meets With Marco Rubio to Discuss Tariff Exemption

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss a tariff exemption for Australia as the Trump administration’s deadline draws near.

The face-to-face discussion was held on the morning of July 2, Australian time, on the sidelines of a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in Washington D.C.

The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) is a diplomatic partnership among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.

The four nations aim to promote a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, strengthen cooperation in security, technology, and economic development, and jointly address global challenges.

It is the second time in the past six months that a Quad meeting has been held.

After the meeting, Wong said she had clearly conveyed the Australian government’s position on a tariff exemption to the U.S. secretary of state.

“I made clear what we made clear privately, that we have a free trade agreement with the United States. We continue to honour that. We enable U.S. goods to enter our country tariff-free, and we continue to advocate for that U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement to also be observed by the administration,” she told ABC News.

“That remains Australia’s position. The prime minister has said that very clearly during the election campaign and since.”

While the minister did not elaborate on how Rubio responded to her message, she said Australia’s stance on the issue remained unchanged.

When asked about the Trump administration’s concerns about some aspects of Australia’s policies, including the media bargaining code and social media bans that could lead to more tariffs, Wong said she was aware of those concerns.

“We understand the Trump administration’s position on some of those issues, and certainly they’ve been live issues in other negotiations,” she said.

“We will continue to proceed and look at these issues from Australia’s national interests.”

Trump’s Tariff Deadline Draws Near

Wong’s meeting with Rubio comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for tariff negotiations is approaching.

The president has confirmed that the tariffs on goods imported to the United States will apply on July 9 and that he has no plan to extend the deadline.

The tariffs were scheduled to take effect in early April. However, on April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause to give key trade partners time to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with the United States.

So far, the United States has signed a deal with the UK and an agreement to de-escalate trade tensions with the Chinese Communist Party.

If nothing changes, Australia will be subject to a baseline tariff of 10 percent on most goods imports, and a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminium after July 9.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been under pressure from the federal opposition after his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada was cancelled due to the Israel-Iran conflict.

Wong noted that Rubio expressed regret about the cancellation, and said the two sides were working to reschedule the meeting.

“I think the world understood the [U.S.] president had a fair bit to do ahead of what was, given what was occurring in the Middle East,” she told Today Show.

“We are working together on rescheduling the meeting. We’re both looking forward to the president and the prime minister meeting.”