There have been media comments that the UK and Australia would be early in the queue for tariff deals with the US – presumably on the basis that we are either the US’s closest allies or easy targets … it’s hard to decide.
We should not progress any tariff deal with the US and should take the same approach as we did with the Chinese – develop other markets. Any current deal would probably focus on the US’s continuing problems with the PBS, digital taxes and bio-restrictions on the entry of US meat products. All these issues are politically poisonous for Australian politicians.
It would be gratifying to simply tell the US to “sod off”, but in practice the choices probably come down to dodge, defer or delay – not accede.
