Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that the AUKUS defence pact remained "full steam ahead" after an overnight phone call with US President Donald Trump, and said he had urged him to fully exempt Australia from all tariffs.
Albanese said both leaders agreed that AUKUS, a defence pact between Australia, the US and Britain that will deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, would continue to benefit all three countries.
AUKUS is Australia's largest-ever defence project. Formed in 2021, AUKUS is part of efforts to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. China has called the pact dangerous and warned it could spur a regional arms race.
Albanese said the phone conversation was very productive, constructive, lengthy and substantial and that he had urged Trump to consider a full exemption for Australia from its flat 12.5% tariffs.
The two leaders also discussed several other issues, including the conflict with Iran and recent defence alliances that Australia entered into with Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
