PM met US trade officials after Trump’s early exit
Anthony Albanese held a meeting with senior US officials after his first in-person talk with Donald Trump was scuppered by the president’s early G7 exit.
The prime minister met with senior US officials after his highly anticipated meeting with Donald Trump was abruptly cancelled.
Anthony Albanese’s plan to meet the US president on the last day of the G7 Leaders summit in Canada’s Alberta province was scuppered when Trump left the event early due to the escalating situation in the Middle East.
In consolation, the prime minister had two meetings with senior US officials in Kananaskis on Tuesday local time. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Albanese and Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.
They discussed trade, tariffs, and Australia’s critical minerals and rare earth minerals.
Albanese was scheduled to meet with the leader of the free world on Tuesday afternoon, but 24 hours before their first face-to-face meeting, Trump revealed he would leave the G7 summit early.
The discussion would have been Albanese’s first in-person opportunity to try to negotiate a tariff exemption as Australia’s exports to the US continue to be hit with a baseline 10 per cent tariff, and its steel and aluminium products incur a 50 per cent levy.
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A spokesperson for the prime minister said the US decision was understandable given the situation between Iran and Israel.
Albanese has previously said he was “deeply concerned” by the situation and urged all parties to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley agreed Trump’s decision to leave was reasonable, but said the government should not have “merely” relied on meeting with the president on the sidelines of the international summit.
After the Pentagon launched a review into Australia’s nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK, the prime minister was also expected to advocate for AUKUS in his meeting with Trump.
There is some hope that the US won’t try to mothball the deal after Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the agreement following their bilateral meeting.
Many others in attendance at the summit had also lined up chats with Trump.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was also hoping to have her first in-person talk with Trump, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had scheduled discussions with the US president on Tuesday.
But even without the biggest star of the summit, the diplomatic show had to go on.
The hole left by the expected US tariffs discussions in Kananaskis was filled by a push to resurrect a long-stalled free trade agreement with the European Union.
During talks with the German Chancellor, Albanese said he was “very keen on getting it done quickly” and Friedrich Merz immediately offered to help.
“Is there anything I can do to speed it up a little bit?” he said ahead of their meeting.
Albanese is also scheduled to talk with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
The EU was Australia’s third-largest trading partner in 2022/23, with two-way trade valued at $106 billion.
Negotiations over the proposed free trade agreement first began in 2018 but have been held up by several points of contention.
The trading bloc was concerned by Australian producers using terms like prosecco or feta for products that did not originate from specific regions in Europe.
Meanwhile, Australia has urged the EU to drop or reduce its tariffs on all agricultural exports.
Earlier in 2025, global uncertainty driven by Trump and his tariffs had revived conversations, and the US president appears to have helped spark discussions once more.
The prime minister’s talks with other world leaders have also resumed, with Albanese also holding conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He has already met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Secretary General Mark Rutte.
