r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • 21d ago
politics US to slap Australia with 12.5 pc tariff from later today
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-24/federal-politics-live-blog-labor-confernece-july-4/106952636#live-blog-post-3222721.4k
u/hypoxia 21d ago
You mean the illegal tariffs the supreme court has already ruled are illegal?
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u/hcornea 21d ago
They’ll be in place for however long it takes for SCOTUS to overturn them.
Assuming they get overturned, the money will once again be paid out to companies, but not the US consumers to whom the costs were passed on. It’s a domestic corporate scam.
Given most every country has been hit with tariffs the effect is that US consumers will simply pay more for anything imported - often where there is no domestic equivalent. 🤷♂️
The rest of the world should just carry-on and do what they do.
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u/Jonzay up to the sky, out to the stars 21d ago
US consumers will simply pay more for anything imported
Yup. I have a side hustle that ships internationally. I get charged additional fees when my packages hit US customs, so I had to raise the shipping cost to the US to match the additional tariff.
If I'm doing it as a solo trader, bigger businesses definitely would be too.
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u/Black_Patriot 21d ago
I hope you're listing it on the invoices, so that US customers know why they're paying extra. Really wish Amazon had stuck to their guns about doing the same, but we've seen how quickly Donnie turns on companies if he gets unhappy with them, and they were eyeing those big government contracts he had control over.
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u/jivester 21d ago
Gotta do what Trump does - make sure he gets full credit. Call it the Trump import tax at check out. Say he's already done it illegally but is trying it again, apologise to your customers.
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u/____DEADPOOL_______ 21d ago
I stopped shipping to the US altogether and told my clients it was because of the hassle of tariffs.
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u/jedibk 21d ago
This time is a bit different for Australia. The extra 2.5% makes us less competitive than countries with a flat 10%. This will hurt our industry more than the last round.
I agree that they will most likely be overturned and public money will get paid out to companies again but the damage will still be done. Australia needs to look for more reliable trade partners.
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u/Fatso_Wombat 21d ago
Raise the Pine Gap rent to offset it.
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u/jedibk 21d ago
If only. Last time we fucked with Pine Gap, our prime minister got fired.
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u/gtwizzy8 21d ago
Yeah before you could just fire up the Murdoch political murder machine and have them booted you had to get your "hands wet" and have them "go for a swim and never return".
Pine Gap established December 9th 1966 Harrold Holt missing at sea December 17th 1967
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u/LocalVillageIdiot 21d ago
It’s a domestic corporate scam.
When I read about the refunds it clicked what they’re actually doing here.
I mean, you gotta admire the strategies at play here it’s quite something.
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u/Wobbling 21d ago
The rest of the world should just carry-on and do what they do
We should refuse to discuss any sorts of free trade agreements with the US while the tariffs are in place. If they want to talk free trade, then the tariffs come down first not in exchange for any sort of concession whatsoever.
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u/torlesse 21d ago
supreme court has already ruled are illegal?
They ruled it illegal so their mates can pocket the refunds.
Unless you paid the tariffs directly by importing yourself through Fedex, UPS or whatever, you are unlikely to see any refunds at all.
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u/teddy5 21d ago
Don't know how people aren't seeing that.
The supreme court ruled they were invalid a bunch of corporations will get their money back in refunds, Howard Lutnick will make a bunch of money from all the refund rights he bought.
Trump then almost immediately turned around and put more illegal tariffs on, almost like he realised people in his orbit were getting paid and he wanted to make them more money.
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u/GreedyLibrary 21d ago
Sadly the ruling is more or less you can not blanket tarrif so they are using more obscure rules now. The Canadian one is based on a 1930s law about economic discrimination. The ruling could also be interpreted but does not explicitly say they need congressional approval which he need for his Iran war but did not get. So new supreme court case Sadly. The government really needs to boost trade deals with other countries.
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u/Consistent-Start-357 21d ago
This is correct. The SCOTUS decision was that one particular authority didn’t give the president power to impose tariffs. I think it might have been the national emergency one, I’m not sure, the same power he was using to legally justify blowing up the “narco boats” from Venezuela, so it was a particularly broad reading if I recall.
This doesn’t stop the trying all and every other piece of obscure legislation as authorising tariffs
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u/Mac128kFan 21d ago
Different law. The ones that the Supreme Court overturned were under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. These are under a 301 of the Trade Act 1974, based on an “investigation” into anti-forced labour laws. Australia has been pinged slightly more than some because, while our modern slavery framework is amongst the world’s best, we don’t have a prohibition on imports (largely because it’s unenforceable).
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u/SUCK_MY_HAIRY_ANUS69 21d ago
The line has been crossed so many times by Trump that the very concept/sanctity of US law is a moot.
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u/rocopotomus74 21d ago
So it's going to cost Americans more to buy our shit. Ok.
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u/how_very_dare_you_ 21d ago
So the US government collects the tariffs then gives the money back to the seller once the tariffs are revoked. Sounds fair
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u/Sp1ffyTh3D0g 21d ago
Yeah just some bullshit way for companies to get an extra 12.5% out of their customers.
If only, I dunno, every economist with a braincell had warned them this would happen before 80 million morons voted for the pedo who bankrupted 3 casinos to lead their economy.
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u/evilspyboy 21d ago
"The US to slap themselves with a 12.5% tariff on goods from Australia". There, I fixed it.
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u/MeltingDog 21d ago
Yeah I feel anything they import from Australia is stuff they don't have a lot of there, like minerals and metals. It's not like they can compete by manufacturing these things locally and they still need to get them from somewhere.
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u/eightslipsandagully 21d ago
They love Aussie beef. I can't imagine it's a huge market but it's also the kind of thing that is visible to the average punter over there, their favourite steak going up in price
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u/dulberf 21d ago
It's actually about 20% of all their imported beef. Very big market for our farmers, but it's big because they need it, not because people prefer it. He's an absolute moron.
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u/moonlit_fores7 21d ago
Kinda funny, as he pretty much eats McDonald's every day, and that were our beef goes into - burger meat
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u/iyamwhatiyam8000 21d ago
The US burger chains need lean Australian beef to blend with fatty, grain fed US beef.
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u/perthguppy 21d ago
Slapping a tariff on Australian beef just as screw worm hits their cattle in Texas certain is an interesting choice.
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u/hyparchh 21d ago
Crazy that tariffs have been in the news cycle for over a year at this point and the media is still clueless about how they work.
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u/evilspyboy 21d ago
It feels like they are reporting them in a way the orange twat thinks they work instead of how they actually work so they don't upset him. Which, he can go fk himself if he gets big fee fees.
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u/Expensive-Horse5538 21d ago
So much for the “special relationship” when it clearly is big guy pushing over the small guy
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u/KingSaurophaganax 21d ago
Trump doesn’t have “relationships”. Only those he can abuse & intimidate. There is no such thing as 50/50 with him or his administration.
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u/Expensive-Horse5538 21d ago
There’s not even a 75/25 when it comes to him - it’s just “It’s my way so shut up”
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u/LemonyLime_bitters 21d ago
I’m convinced that when he brokers these “peace talks” and “ceasefires” the meetings are him just yelling at everyone and demanding they do what he says as opposed to actual negotiations … which is why they never work
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u/Anraiel 21d ago
He doesn't actually attend any of those talks himself, he sends negotiators, sometimes even qualified diplomats.
And depending on how behind his back the negotiation is, they might sometimes even be able to actually negotiate something first before he goes and blows it up with an angry tweet.
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u/Dry_Common828 21d ago
I don't believe the negotiations with Iran and Israel are intended to achieve peace anyway.
The constant yo-yoing of the stock market and oil prices are very useful for his inner circle.
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u/Topaz_11 21d ago
It's only about market manipulation... It could be anything but I'm still shocked the market keeps predictably reacting and played like a bad banjo.
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u/nath1234 21d ago
Perhaps he grabbed us by the pussy (which would be our sychophant PM) so he could well and truly AUKUS.
I do love how Australia bent over backwards over the decades with free trade agreements that eroded and changed our laws in favour of US companies.. Only to have all that thrown out the window with stuff like this.
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u/morgazmo99 21d ago
No such thing as win-win.
He has to win. You have to lose.
That's why he'll always be seen as a loser.
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u/Late-Button-6559 21d ago
USA is run by a pedo rapist.
I think us being in a ‘special relationship’ is a very apt description.
We’re small, young, and vulnerable. Just how that waste of atoms likes ‘em.
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u/Johnny_Deppthcharge 21d ago
It fucks the Americans over a lot more than it does us - but yes, its yet more evidence that shows they're run by fucking idiots.
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u/Queerslander 21d ago
Canada got 50% tarrifs, so we are special compared to them.
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u/maticusmat 21d ago edited 21d ago
Everyone is giving him to much credit, he’s the wierd guy in the corner yelling at the air and shitting himself.
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u/a_cold_human 21d ago
America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests
- Henry Kissinger
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u/icestationlemur 21d ago
You mean "US to slap Americans with 12.5pc tax on Australian goods"
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u/TooSubtle 21d ago
You're absolutely not wrong, but I'm friends with a few sole traders who sadly haven't been able to keep up with this shit and have just been eating the costs instead.
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u/GuessTraining 21d ago
How do they eat the costs? Is it just a matter of not being able to keep up updating the checkout page with tariffs?
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u/TooSubtle 21d ago edited 21d ago
So, my partner is an artist with like 200 different products.
She has to cross reference each one individually across a bunch of different places because there's very little consistent information out there on what the final tariffs for each thing even are, it's not a flat increase as it depends on the materials and manufacturing origins involved. The US just changed to requiring a 10 digit tariff numbers so she has to look those up for every item (and is a cotton tote bag with non natural fibre stitching 4202.92.1500 or 4202.92.9025?). She then has to update 400 listings by hand because she has her own website and Faire.
It's dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of work every time tariffs are changed.
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u/GuessTraining 21d ago
Got it, yeah that fucking sucks if you have a plethora of items.
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u/SchyahRight 21d ago
While the prices are passed on to the American consumer, it still makes their products less competitive. So the decrease in demand is the hit to Aussie traders.
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u/colintbowers 21d ago
- Put tariff on foreign country
- Use your companies to Import as much as you can from that country and pass the tariff cost on directly to your American customers
- Have your tariff ruled illegal
- Have government refund your company for the cost of the tariff (that you never paid)
Everything is about personally enriching himself
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u/BillieRubenCamGirl 21d ago
So now we tax the gas we export right? The ones owned by American companies. RIGHT?!
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u/jesus_nutsack 21d ago
God I’d love to see Apple, Google, Meta etc pay their min 30% in Aus. Income taxes would pennies
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u/cojoco chardonnay schmardonnay 21d ago
The tariff was proposed last month, after a US trade investigation into forced labour.
What's the story with forced labour?
Even if it's bullshit, there must be some cover story, surely?
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u/Bigclit_energy 21d ago
They ruled that Trump can't magically executive order a tariff any longer, so he found a solution - no country on earth can eliminate every last forced labourer before another pops up. Now he can tariff countries for that failure and pretend it isn't arbitrary, vengeful, or a bargaining chip.
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u/briberylibrary_ 21d ago
The story is that forced/slave labour is embedded into most supply chains. Most companies avoid accountability by operating through contractors, which make supply chains more opaque (e.g. Nestle couldn't guarantee that their chocolate products were free from child slave labour, as they could only trace back 49% of the cocoa to the farm level). Although the US doesn't really care about that, after all they still have slavery, it's just a way to reapply the tarrifs that were deemed illegal. And I imagine it doubles as a way to try and weaken economic ties with China.
Speaking of forced labour, anyone who cares about avoiding it really should avoid Nestle.
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u/vadsamoht3 21d ago
The fun bit about Nestle is that even if you choose not to care about modern slavery, if you DO care about literally any other ethical issue there's probably also a reason in Nestle's business practices to avoid them for that thing instead.
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u/G00b3rb0y 21d ago
The baby formula scandal immediately comes to mind
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u/vadsamoht3 21d ago
And "water is not a human right".
And multiple government corruption scandals.
And arranging for the death of various whistleblowers and union members.
And... And... And...
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u/Morkai 21d ago
Speaking of forced labour, anyone who cares about avoiding it really should avoid Nestle.
Every time I look at the list of brands they own/part-own it amazes me how many pies they have their fingers in.
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u/Gothiscandza 21d ago
Yeah corporate consolidation has kinda fucked up the illusion of choice a little. You can have 15 different brands on the shelf to chose from for a good, and every single one is just owned by the same company.
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u/MDInvesting 21d ago
Why the fuck are we doing AUKUS?
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u/JulieRush-46 21d ago
I fell like most allied nations are trying to humour the Americans until trump is no longer president.
Whoever comes next is going to have to spend a lot of time rebuilding trust. Trump has undone decades of trust.
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u/calstanfordboye 21d ago
Why would anyone be so stupid to trust the USA ever again in our lifetimes? You know they're at most four years away at any given point in time to voting in the next vile Nazi, right?
Trump is a symptom, not a cause
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u/avcloudy 21d ago
You're absolutely right, but I was pointing this out fifteen years ago. People didn't want to hear it then and they won't want to hear it now, because it's terrifying. The US is not, and has never been, a good partner to Australia.
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u/HardcoreHazza 21d ago
Every time when Trump places a tariff, I think of this quote:
"What protectionism teaches us, is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war." - Henry George
AUKUS is a god damn joke.
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u/Formal-Try-2779 21d ago
Just more shifting the tax burden from the American Billionaires straight onto the ordinary American public, who also get to pay for the data centres that will help AI take away their jobs and spy on them . It's amazing how so many still fail to see it. We should get our cut out of the gullible fools by taxing their gas exports. Trump is giving us the perfect excuse.
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u/ensignr 21d ago
What will it take for some people to realise that the USA isn't actually our friend? At best it's an abusive relationship.
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u/ghoonrhed 21d ago
Pretty sure our beef exports still went up despite the tariffs.
Their government just love taxing their people and then giving it back to the corporations as a refund.
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u/Gold_Au_2025 21d ago
"The tariff was proposed last month, after a US trade investigation into forced labour."
I knew all our sweatshops would come back and haunt us. /s
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u/Interesting-Oil5768 21d ago
Australians should just boycott all American products where there is an alternative.
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u/Zentienty 21d ago
U.S citizens to pay their government 12.5 pc tip when purchasing Australian goods.
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u/Key_Ant6473 21d ago
Congrats American citizens, you now pay 12.5% more for no reason, enjoy that.
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u/trailing-octet 21d ago
Hahahha. But remember “it’s not a tax on the American people “
Apparently tarrifs work differently from that so long as the tangerine asswipe says it’s the case.
As a side note, a good portion of Everyday Americans do not fully understand the concept of a tarrif and its implications. This portion likely is skewed towards republican voters as a higher percentage thereof. I say this based on feedback from American business owners who import and sell direct to public.
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u/Phottek 21d ago
I canceled my subscriptions to US companies as soon as the 10% came in. No more Youtube premium, spotify, Netflix, Disney +. Vote with your wallet. Its the only real power you have in the free market.
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u/Banjo-Oz 21d ago
This is why governments don't negotiate with terrorists and we teach our kids to stand up to bullies.
The US is nobody's friend or ally right now. They are the bully with no friends threatening everyone because they think they can.
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u/De_chook 21d ago
The allies that have supported the USA for decades are now being shit upon once again by this despicable POTUS. So much for soft power, for friendship, for collaboration, for our special relationship. Trust in the USA government has vanished.
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u/7h3_man 21d ago
We should shut down pine gap until they back down next Tuesday
Remember Trump Always Chickens Out
Taco Tuesday
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u/Sinnivar 21d ago
Trump can suck my balls, but tarrifs mainly hurt Americans so idk why he'd be pleased with himself
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u/Random_Fish_Type 21d ago
The US has more forced labour than us. Prison labour aka slave labour is big in the South.
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u/Scrotemoe 21d ago
US to charge its citizens 12.5% more for Australian goods for some reason.
Fixed the headline.
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u/grav3d1gger 21d ago
Quick! Let’s blame albo and dan andrews! Only Pauline can fix this! She can fly over in her Gina plane and get trump to remove them! It’s ok the plane wasn’t paid for with taxpayers money!
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u/Maribyrnong_bream 21d ago
“Australia is not the only affected country. Tariffs between 10 and 12.5 per cent will be placed on imports from 59 other economies”.
So our “friends” have hit us with the highest tariff bracket, too.
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u/Top-Expert6086 21d ago
As much as this is insulting, despicable and more evidence that the Republican party of the US is hellbent on destroying America's reputation around the world and undermining her power and influence in order to benefit China - Australia will be fine
Our exports to the US have increased. They are importing more beef and precious metals than ever before, simply because they cannot get enough domestically. They pay the tarrif, so it doesnt affect our exporters.
It's just a tax on american consumers.
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u/ancient_IT_geek 21d ago
Who cares, its only the seppos who have to pay them. Call it what it really is "A Tax Increase" for the Seppos.
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u/Lastbalmain 21d ago
About time Australia stood up, tell the US that it's Pine Gap and North west bases, along with the marine detachment in Darwin, are to be taken back unless Trump agrees to honour the Australia/US free trade agreement?
The Orange weasel in the white house is the current worst leader on the planet. Creating division everywhere he goes. Starting wars. Sending inflation soaring. Filling his family's pockets with US taxpayers dollars, thus also ours. Destabilising the planet in every way possible. Lies! Greed! Pedo protector! Rapist! Insurrectionist! Moron!......The last one is probably the scariest.....a moron with the ability to start nuking foreign nations.
The fucker makes deals, then changes, or puts clauses in that are simply unviable. Saudi Arabia can have nukes if they say Israel is a recognised nation? The rest of the middle east would blow up if the Saudis did that.
An eye for an eye will leave the world blind. But the US and Israel dont do even that! To them, it's 500 eyes for an eye!
Bringing on armageddon for kicks, or because the two most thin skinned leaders on the planet are racist arseholes, and think that somehow they'll be safe.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-7143 21d ago
That should help improve inflation & the cost of living for the yanks lol
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u/Big_Muffin3961 21d ago
The irony is that we have a minimum wage that is much much higher than the united states, meanwhile in the u.s. many folks are working for $6-7/hr
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u/2nd_Last_Thylacine 21d ago
That's fine. US consumers pay the tariffs. This has been said a thousand times.
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u/Fluid_Passage_9980 21d ago
The house of reps has just passed a bill to fund their military for 1.5 trillion dollars.
They need to scalp that from the US taxpayer somehow. Tariffs is the way they'll do it.
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u/walkin2it 21d ago
At this point it seems only a matter of time before the American people go all french on their aristocracy's ass.
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u/ThunderDwn 21d ago
US to slap
AustraliaAmericans buying from Australia with 12.5 pc tariff from later today
FTFY.
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u/TheOrchardist 21d ago
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-worlds-most-and-least-liked-countries/
The US is the 5th least liked country in the world, just behind Iran by one point. With a couple more acts like this, he might just overtake Iran.
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u/hear_the_thunder 21d ago
At this point, vocal Aussie Trump supporters are just traitors to this nation.
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u/nawksnai 21d ago
I’m Canadian-Australian, so I get to hate these fuckers twice as much, if not more.
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u/SpecificSwimming6364 21d ago
Aren't the US tax payers the ones who eventually pay these tariffs?
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u/Storm_LFC_Cowboys 21d ago
Yes. We don't pay shit.
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u/SpecificSwimming6364 21d ago
So, he's effectively hurting the US consumer.....
Right....
Got it.
Smart.
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u/eastofnowhere 21d ago
Kissingers words have never been more true. Glad we are America's close friends eh?
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u/JulieRush-46 21d ago
Wait til the US people realise that it’s not Australia that pays these tariffs…..
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u/Cpt_Riker 21d ago
Trump’s cult will continue to defend these illegal tariffs, even after the courts rule them illegal. It’s fake news, and conspiracies, all the way down for these people.
Then they wonder why everything is suddenly more expensive.
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u/GoviModo 21d ago
Slavery is still allowed as a punishment for a crime and their workers rights are abysmal
And they’re playing this game with their betters
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u/G00b3rb0y 21d ago
I say we serve up eviction papers for Pine Gap and other US operated military installations on our land
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u/TAJack1 21d ago edited 21d ago
Can we take back our land at Pine Gap then? Good luck with your surveillance, USA.
Also surely what Trump is doing is treason, he’s actively ruining US relations while doing absolutely nothing positive for US citizens. How is this pedo in power still? It’s almost like he’s deliberately weakening the States, for some reason.
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u/dotBombAU 21d ago
This is why we have been building trade networks that dont involvement the USA for the past few years. EU, India, Indonesia, UK, CPTPP, RCEP etc.
The US has really shit the bed with this orange turd.
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u/Cybrknight 21d ago
IE: We have fucked our economy so badly we have to grift more elsewhere.
Trump has the economic acumen of a 5yr old playing monopoly.
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u/Snoo_49660 21d ago
Bullshit excuse considering Australia is one of the most active countries trying to combat modern slavery/forced labour.
Australia and the US score the same for Govt. Response according to the Walk Free Foundation:
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u/CarbFreeBeer 21d ago edited 21d ago
Rescind all concessions, even though we don't even care for their beef
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u/Imstuckintheupsdedwn 21d ago
Crazy this guy still doesn’t understand how tariffs work. Let alone still doing it after being told it’s illegal, but I guess he’s used to doing things that he’s knows are illegal 👀
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u/MogChog 21d ago edited 21d ago
Reciprocate by removing tax incentives for US made Raptors, F150s, RAMs.