Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor fears Australia will be affected by US President Donald Trump's decision to slap tariffs on $US200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The tariffs to take effect from Monday, start at 10 per cent, and will rise to 25 per cent at the beginning of next year.
Mr O'Connor said there was "never a dull moment" with President Trump as the global heavyweights trade blows.
"There will be ramifications - the extent and nature of which we don't know yet - but there'll be some impact on Australia," Mr O'Connor told Sky News on Tuesday.
"The retaliation is going to ripple through this region, without a shadow of a doubt."
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia was always concerned when people flouted the traditional rules-based order of international trade.
"We've continued consistently to urge parties not to pursue distorting subsidies and not to pursue unilateral tariff actions," he told ABC radio.
Senator Birmingham said the government was focused on securing farmers preferential treatment to global markets and guarding against other nations dumping low-value goods on Australian soil.
"Tariffs ultimately result in consumers paying more and disruptive trade practices ultimately hurt economies rather than help them," he said.
"That's why we continue to urge everybody ... to think carefully about the consequences of doing so, to recognise that hurts their economies, it has possible negative impacts on other economies.
"It means consumers end up paying more, taxpayers end up subsiding more. They're not good things."
