Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he had a “warm conversation” with President Donald Trump about tariffs and the AUKUS defense pact after his re-election over the weekend.
Albanese, Australia’s first prime minister to win a second consecutive term in two decades, secured his re-election when his center-left Labor Party decisively defeated the conservatives on Saturday.
The victory marked a stunning comeback against the conservative Liberal-National coalition, which was ahead in polls back in February before Trump announced new tariffs on Australia and the country’s conservatives unveiled domestic proposals similar to those introduced by Trump.
“I had a warm and positive conversation with President Trump … and I thank him for his very warm message of congratulations,” Albanese said Monday during a media briefing.
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“We talked about how AUKUS and tariffs will continue to engage. We will engage with each other on a face-to-face basis at some time in the future, and I thank him for reaching out in such a positive way,” Albanese continued.
In 2023, Albanese’s government committed to spending $238 billion over 30 years on AUKUS, Australia’s defense pact with the U.S. and the U.K., to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Concerns about the cost-of-living and Trump’s policies were among the top issues in the Australian election, according to polls, Reuters reported.
About 48% of voters in one survey picked the uncertainties sparked by Trump as one of their top five concerns after his tariffs on countries around the world, including Australia, shocked global markets.
Trump said earlier on Monday he did not follow the Australian election.
“I don’t know anything about the election other than the man that won, he’s very good,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to Albanese.
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“Albanese I’m very friendly with … I can only say that he’s been very, very nice to me, very respectful to me,” Trump continued.
The U.S. has a trade surplus with Australia but imposed a 10% tariff on the country in April, which led Albanese to call the levies “not the act of a friend.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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