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Australia pursues reprieve from US tariffs

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and other cabinet ministers are lobbying their US counterparts for a permanent exemption from steel tariffs.

Julie Bishop
Julie Bishop is lobbying the US for a permanent exemption from steel tariffs. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Australian ministers are trying to secure a permanent exemption to US steel and aluminium tariffs before they take effect on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she and her cabinet colleagues are pressing their American counterparts to extend a temporary reprieve from tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

"The prime minister and other ministers have been relentless in our advocacy for Australia and we will continue to ensure that we receive that exemption," Ms Bishop told ABC radio on Monday.

The minister said the majority of Australian steel exports to the United States were further processed on arrival, helping to create thousands of manufacturing jobs and posing no threat to the country's national security.

"That's a point we've been making to the US administration, including in my conversation with Mike Pompeo, the new secretary of state, last week," Ms Bishop said.

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Treasurer Scott Morrison is confident the US will honour its undertaking.

"We're all very clear about what was agreed between the prime minister and president and I have no doubt those undertakings will be honoured," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.


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