US senator goes into bat for Australia on tariffs

Thursday 10 April 2025

President Trump’s 10% tariff on Australia never made sense.

Australia has historically had a gaping trade deficit with the United States.

As illustrated in the table below from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the United States exported (A$88.2b) more than double what it imported (A$37.5b) from Australia in 2023-24.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.