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16-06-2025
CANBERRA/ SYDNEY: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would meet with US President Donald Trump at the Group of Seven summit in Canada for talks on the AUKUS defence pact and tariffs, in what will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.
Albanese, who this month said he was looking forward to a “face-to-face” meeting with Trump without saying when it would occur, said he would meet Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit, which starts on Sunday.
“We do have a meeting scheduled. Obviously, there are issues that the US President is dealing with at the moment but I expect that we will be able to have a constructive engagement,” Albanese said in Seattle on Saturday, according to an official transcript of his remarks.
“Obviously, we’ll raise tariffs, we’ll raise the importance as well of AUKUS and we will have a discussion as two friends should,” Albanese added.
Washington’s request for Canberra to raise defence spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product from 2% is also expected to feature in the meeting.
The confirmation of talks comes after the Pentagon said this week it was reviewing its AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership with Australia and Britain. Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its defense amid China’s expansive military buildup, has said it will work closely with the US on the review.
AUKUS, to which Australia has pledged AU$368 billion over three decades, was formed in 2021 to address worries about China’s growing power.
“I look forward to building on the very constructive phone conversations that we’ve had on the three occasions that we’ve had the opportunity to talk,” Albanese added.
A key US security ally, Australia on Saturday welcomed a key US warship to Sydney Harbour ahead of joint war games that will see more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries take part in Talisman Sabre, the largest Australian-US war-fighting exercise.
However, Australia will not relax its strict biosecurity rules during tariff talks with the United States, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday ahead of a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump at this month’s G7 summit.
Since 2003, Australia has curbed entry of US beef after detecting Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease but the United States is its largest beef export market, worth AU$4.4 billion ($2.9 billion) last year, a trade disparity Trump has criticized.
“We will not change or compromise any of the issues regarding biosecurity, full stop, exclamation mark. It’s simply not worth it,” Albanese told media.
Biosecurity rules safeguard Australia’s disease-free cattle, helping it preserve access to lucrative markets such as Japan and South Korea. Australian beef is prized by US fast food chains for its lower fat content and competitive prices.
Australia allows entry for US beef if the cattle were born, raised and slaughtered in the United States but few shippers can prove these requirements, as cattle frequently move between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Friday, citing unidentified government officials, said Australian authorities were reviewing whether to allow entry of beef products from cattle raised in Mexico and Canada but slaughtered in the United States, as the Trump administration has demanded.
Albanese said no such concessions were being considered as those imports still posed risks for domestic industry.
The National Farmers’ Federation welcomed Albanese’s remarks. “Australia’s biosecurity status is integral to the success and sustainability of our agricultural industries,” said its president, David Jochinke. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
