SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
Washington: US President Donald Trump confirmed he is aware the Australian government has been trying to contact him to discuss trade – and that he is yet to take Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s call.
“They are calling, and I will be talking to him, yes,” Trump told this masthead and Nine News on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) when asked whether he would speak to the Australian prime minister.
“They are calling”: Donald Trump acknowledged the Australian government was trying to reach him.Credit: AP
He made the comments as he departed the White House for the US state of Michigan, where will hold a rally marking his first 100 days back in office.
Albanese has been under pressure from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton over his failure to secure another phone call with the US president following their conversation in February.
During that call, Trump agreed to consider an exemption on tariffs for Australian steel and aluminium, but ultimately granted no country relief. Australia was also hit with a 10 per cent universal tariff in April, along with the United Kingdom and many other US allies.
At the most recent leaders’ debate, when asked whether he had Trump’s phone number, Albanese said he was not even sure the president had a mobile phone. Conversations between world leaders were arranged in advanced and took place in secure rooms with aides present, he said.
But Dutton remained critical. “I think the answer was ‘no’ there … We didn’t get it [Trump’s phone number],” he said.
Trump does have a mobile phone. Two journalists from The Atlantic magazine recently reported calling him on a Saturday morning in late March, while he was at his golf club in New Jersey, and he answered despite the number being unfamiliar. “Who’s calling?” he reportedly said.
Further detail has been sought from the White House about Trump’s reasons for declining Australia’s calls.
Earlier in the day, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick – who is responsible for trade deals with countries other than China – said he expected to strike “incredibly smart, incredibly thoughtful” deals all over the world.
“[Trump] understands if you make a deal with a country, and you give them the parts that they want and they need, they’re going to open they’re market,” he told CNBC television. “People won’t let us sell chicken, they won’t let us sell beef. It’s all nonsense.”
More to come
