Opposition Calls on Australian PM to ‘Pick up the Phone’ and Make a Deal With Trump After Turnbull Clash

This follows Donald Trump responding on Truth Social to personal attacks from former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., on Feb. 23, 2018. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “pick the phone up” and speak with U.S. President Donald Trump about trade tariffs amid the dispute with former Australian leader Malcolm Turnbull.

Turnbull and Trump have recently traded blows after the former Australian prime minister launched a stinging criticism of the president’s policies in multiple interviews.

The United States is seeking to impose global steel and trade tariffs from March 12, but Australia is seeking an exemption.

Dutton steered clear of criticising Turnbull when asked if his former Liberal colleague had jeopardised negotiations with Trump and the United States.

“I think the most important thing is for the prime minister to pick the phone up and speak with the president, and for the trade minister to speak to his counterpart, and for the treasurer to speak to his counterpart, and for the foreign minister to speak to her counterpart,” Dutton said on Sunrise.

“They’re the important discussions going on—or that should be going on at the moment—because without those discussions we won’t get an exemption from the trade tariff, and we should. I think that’s in the hands of the prime minister at the moment.”

Dutton urged Albanese to stop “squibbing it” and take action to secure Australia’s exemption from the tariffs.

The opposition leader also said he disagreed with the “analysis” of Turnbull’s time as leader and said the important aspect was not the tit for tat.

When asked if he would pick up the phone to Turnbull and ask him to “back off,” Dutton answered, “No.”

In another press conference in the afternoon on March 11, Dutton reiterated his call for the prime minister to call Trump, describing the tariff issue as an “incredibly important issue” for Australia’s steel and aluminium industry.

“We cannot build these buildings, the windows and the doors and much of what we see in the built environment in this country relies on steel and aluminium, and we don’t need a 25 percent tariff being applied, but it is up to the prime minister,” Dutton said.

The Turnbull-Trump Clash

Turnbull was able to negotiate with Trump during his first presidency, which saw Australia avoid the application of those tariffs. Albanese is still working to secure an exemption.

Turnbull condemned Trump’s character and claimed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping would take advantage of the president.

“What my prediction will be that Xi will aim to be the exact opposite of Trump. Where Trump is chaotic, he will be consistent. Where Trump is rude and abusive, he'll be respectful. Where Trump is erratic, he will be consistent,” Turnbull told Bloomberg.

“And what that will do is build trust with countries, and there'll be many countries who will, looking at China on the one hand and Trump on the other, will find China a more attractive partner.”

Trump responded to the initial interview on Truth Social and wrote that Turnbull failed to grasp China and did not have the ability to lead.

“Malcolm Turnbull, the former Prime Minister of Australia who was always leading that wonderful country from ‘behind,’ never understood what was going on in China, nor did he have the capacity to do so,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“I always thought he was a weak and ineffective leader and, obviously, Australians agreed with me,” he said, hinting at the fact Turnbull is no longer in power.

Like former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Turnbull has actively weighed in on policy debates domestically and internationally.

He has been a vocal critic of Trump, as well as Dutton’s nuclear policy.

Prime Minister Talks Up Trade Surplus with United States

Meanwhile, Australian Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd has been lobbying U.S. officials for an exemption—Australia accounts for a very minor percentage of steel and aluminium exports to the United States.

So far there has been no word from the government on Australia’s fate, but Albanese talked up the nation’s advantages.

“We'll continue to engage constructively and we’re continuing to work. It is in Australia’s interest, but it’s also in the economic interests of the United States for Australia to be exempted from tariffs that of course just increased prices for the purchaser of those goods,” Albanese told reporters in Lismore on March 10.

Albanese said the United States enjoys a trade surplus with Australia and has done so since the Truman presidency.

“We are partners with the United States through our free trade agreement and will continue to advocate for Australia’s national interest,” he said.