SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his relationship with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is off to a “very good start,” explaining a phone call between the two after the Republican’s victory. in the US elections.
Albanese said this week that he told Trump on the call that the United States has a trade surplus with Australia and that it was in Washington’s interest to “trade fairly” with its ally.
Under Trump’s first presidency, Australia won an exemption from US tariffs for its aluminum and steel exports.
Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Albanese described the call as a “very good start to our relationship”.
It was a “positive phone call we had. We talked for 10 minutes, it was one of the first phone calls he ever made,” the leader of Australia’s center-left Labor government said, according to a transcript.
Albanese’s call to Trump also covered security ties, including the AUKUS deal, under which Australia will buy American nuclear submarines next decade and develop a new class of nuclear-powered submarines with the United States and Britain.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said this month that the government was confident in its alliance with the United States, its largest security partner.
One potential problem for the government is the relationship between the incoming administration and Australia’s ambassador to Washington, former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who previously made disparaging comments about Trump in his capacity as head of a think tank based in Washington. in the United States.
Albanese, when asked if Rudd would remain in the job, said he was doing “a fantastic job” and would remain.
“It’s Australia’s appointment and it says something about the importance of the United States that we have appointed a former prime minister,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., according to a transcript from Sunday.