What are the ripple effects of Trump’s tariffs on Australia?

The impact of Trump’s tariffs – and how Australia navigates its relationship with the US – remains a critical and complex issue. According to Emeritus Professor Martin Richardson from the ANU Research School of Economics, the most strategic response may be no response at all.

“It’s very hard to know from all these conflicting stories what to expect in the tariff behaviour of the US,” he says.

“The right thing for us to do in response to these tariffs levied around the world is nothing. The only gain from putting out a retaliative tariff is if there is some prospect of removing the initial tariff, and of course, for Australia, there is clearly no prospect at all.”

Like voters trying to make sense of shifting global dynamics, even experts admit there’s no clear playbook for what lies ahead.

“In our lifetimes, we have never been in a situation like this before. And the intertwining of political and economic considerations makes it very difficult to know how it’s all going to pan out.”