Latest / Inside Politics / Steel, macho men and the PM’s phone call with Trump
Transcript
- 0:00S1: From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
- 0:03S1: This is inside politics. I'm Jacqueline Maley. It's Friday, February 14th.
- 0:09S1: We bring you this episode of Inside Politics on Valentine's Day.
- 0:12S1: But right now, the relationship between Australia and our closest
- 0:15S1: ally is at a very delicate juncture. This week, President
- 0:20S1: Donald Trump declared his intention to impose tariffs on aluminium
- 0:24S1: and steel imports from all countries, with no exceptions. The
- 0:28S1: pressure was on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to negotiate an
- 0:31S1: exception for Australian exports, just as his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull,
- 0:35S1: did with Trump in 2017 during Trump's last presidency. Albanese
- 0:39S1: had a long and reportedly warm conversation with Trump about
- 0:42S1: the tariff issue, with Trump saying he would consider an
- 0:45S1: exemption for Australian steel and aluminium, but no promises were made.
- 0:50S1: And in the volatile landscape of Trump 2.0, nothing is
- 0:53S1: certain except that we will have more uncertainty. So how
- 0:57S1: likely is the PM to win an exemption from US tariffs.
- 1:02S1: How big of a test is this for Albanese, and
- 1:04S1: how much will voters mark him down if he fails it?
- 1:07S1: Here to discuss all this with me, we have our
- 1:09S1: chief political correspondent, David Crowe, and our senior economics correspondent,
- 1:13S1: Shane Wright. Special guest star. Welcome, gentlemen.
- 1:16S2: It's nice to be introduced as a star. I'm feeling
- 1:18S2: better already.
- 1:20S1: It's been a very interesting week, chaps. Following Trump's announcement, David,
- 1:23S1: that he would impose aluminium and steel tariffs on all
- 1:27S1: US trading partners across the board. Our prime minister, Anthony Albanese,
- 1:31S1: was instantly under a lot of pressure, wasn't he, to
- 1:33S1: secure an exemption for Australia. So how did he respond
- 1:37S1: to that pressure.
- 1:38S3: With extreme caution. He he was very careful about what
- 1:43S3: he said in response to the message from Donald Trump.
- 1:46S4: In the Oval Office with a thick black pen, Donald
- 1:49S4: Trump drawing a big red line through global steel with tariffs.
- 1:54S5: It's 25% without exceptions or exemptions.
- 1:58S3: Uh, but he did have a 40 minute conversation with
- 2:02S3: Donald Trump that had been arranged shortly beforehand. So the
- 2:06S3: timing actually worked in a reasonably positive way for the
- 2:10S3: Prime Minister, because we knew that the tariffs were coming,
- 2:13S3: but we also knew that there was a phone call coming.
- 2:15S3: And so it was really the response to the phone
- 2:17S3: call that was so interesting.
- 2:19S4: In Canberra, the prime minister emerging from a presidential phone
- 2:22S4: call with a smile.
- 2:23S3: The two leaders agreed publicly on the words they would use,
- 2:27S3: that Donald Trump would consider an exemption for Australia. And
- 2:30S3: that was a provisional win for Anthony Albanese. But it
- 2:34S3: was very interesting that he didn't venture anywhere beyond that wording.
- 2:37S3: He was so careful to only frame it in the
- 2:40S3: wording he had agreed with Donald Trump.
- 2:42S6: I presented Australia's case for an exemption.
- 2:46S5: I just spoke to him. Very fine man.
- 2:48S6: The US president agreed that an exemption was under consideration.
- 2:52S5: I told him that that's something that we will give
- 2:55S5: great consideration.
- 2:56S3: To, and he was also very careful not to um,
- 3:00S3: convey what Donald Trump had said. He didn't talk publicly
- 3:04S3: about the message from Donald Trump. It sounded like a
- 3:06S3: very good conversation. It was quite good spirited. We know
- 3:10S3: that there have been conversations in the past where Donald
- 3:13S3: Trump has ripped into Australian prime ministers, most famously Malcolm Turnbull.
- 3:17S3: There wasn't any sort of condition for that kind of
- 3:19S3: rancour this time around, but the understanding at the moment
- 3:23S3: is that there might be a exemption, and it's really
- 3:27S3: not much of a commitment from the American side. So
- 3:31S3: Anthony Albanese is quite exposed. If there is no exemption,
- 3:35S3: because I think it's pretty hard dealing with Donald Trump
- 3:38S3: and Donald Trump is the culprit here in terms of
- 3:40S3: imposing tariffs. But Australian voters would expect the prime minister
- 3:43S3: to stick up and get a good deal.
- 3:45S1: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting you mentioned Turnbull there because
- 3:48S1: he is remembered and he's very, very keen on making
- 3:51S1: people remember this legacy, but that he famously did stand
- 3:54S1: up to Trump on tariffs and also the immigrant swap issue.
- 3:58S1: And he got what he wanted. So it doesn't really
- 4:00S1: matter if Trump talked him down because he was able
- 4:03S1: to face up to him and show that strength. Shane,
- 4:06S1: I want to ask you briefly for non economics correspondents
- 4:09S1: such as myself and dare I say it, many of
- 4:11S1: our listeners. What is Trump's view of tariffs? Why does
- 4:14S1: he have such an aversion to free trade? Or why
- 4:17S1: does he believe that free trade basically equals America being
- 4:21S1: ripped off?
- 4:22S2: According to Trump, tariff is the most beautiful word in
- 4:24S2: the English language. Better than love, apparently. Well, almost. This
- 4:29S2: was an element of Trump, the original in that. And
- 4:33S2: I don't want to go into the economic history, but
- 4:36S2: it's a mercantilist approach. That is, if you trade with
- 4:41S2: a country, you have to trade import more to them
- 4:45S2: than you take input from yourselves. That's his been his
- 4:48S2: mindset forever, and it's a really unusual approach. He also
- 4:54S2: couches it in. And Peter Navarro has his trade adviser
- 4:58S2: has been couching it in supply chain security. But there's
- 5:02S2: also working class manliness tied into this, as in and
- 5:06S2: I give the example here like because he's focused on
- 5:08S2: steel and aluminium. They steel and aluminium in the US
- 5:12S2: employs about 140,000 people, a tiny amount, mostly white males,
- 5:20S2: mostly in the northeast Midwest. There are actually more manicurists
- 5:25S2: and pedicurists employed across the United States, about 180,000. Then
- 5:29S2: there are steel workers. But his focus is on those
- 5:33S2: men and the concerns that they've had, because over time,
- 5:39S2: they're highly paid. They're just not as efficient, productive.
- 5:42S1: And.
- 5:43S2: Cheap. Cheap as, say, Canadian steel and aluminium is cheaper,
- 5:48S2: partly because of all the hydropower that comes out of Canada.
- 5:52S2: It's not as cheap as what's coming out of China,
- 5:55S2: and in some cases, it's not as cheap as it
- 5:56S2: comes out of Australia. So he can't face up to
- 6:00S2: the fact that element, and that the benefit that flows
- 6:04S2: from cheaper inputs to the entire economy, as opposed to
- 6:08S2: the special vested interest, that is American steel and aluminium.
- 6:11S1: Yeah. There it is really interesting you say that there
- 6:13S1: is something really sort of macho and masculinist about, you know,
- 6:16S1: we've got to we've got to win. We've got to
- 6:18S1: we've got to make sure they buy more from us
- 6:20S1: than we buy from them. We've got to be besting
- 6:23S1: them in that sense.
- 6:24S2: That's right. And you, you almost get this feeling that
- 6:27S2: they want to put a whole barrier around the United States.
- 6:30S2: This this is tied up with the political isolationism and
- 6:34S2: the foreign policy isolationism that we can do everything. Yeah.
- 6:38S2: The problem is, economists have worked out. That's bollocks. Yeah.
- 6:42S2: It doesn't work. You are better off trading stuff that
- 6:45S2: you do really well with, with a country that's not
- 6:47S2: quite so good at doing it.
- 6:49S1: Yeah. Okay. So, I mean, there's this sort of economic rationale,
- 6:52S1: but there's also a very transactional and a sort of
- 6:55S1: deals based approach here. We know that Trump and members
- 6:57S1: of his team have admitted very openly that they want
- 6:59S1: to use the threat of imposing tariffs as a negotiating tool. And,
- 7:03S1: you know, some people might call it more like a
- 7:05S1: standover tactic. Um, you know, sort of Mafia style protection
- 7:09S1: money is being demanded here. But what might Trump wish
- 7:13S1: to extract from Australia in exchange for a deal not
- 7:16S1: to impose these tariffs on steel and aluminum, as the
- 7:20S1: Americans call it?
- 7:21S3: He hasn't actually put anything on the table in that way.
- 7:23S3: He hasn't sent a signal about what else Australia could do.
- 7:26S3: It's not like he's saying we're going to put these
- 7:29S3: tariffs on you. But gee, if you if you spent
- 7:33S3: another $800 million on Aukus in the next month or two,
- 7:37S3: that would change the game. None of his team have
- 7:40S3: signalled anything like that either. So the Australian situation is
- 7:43S3: quite unlike what's been happening with Canada, where it's, well,
- 7:47S3: why don't you become a US state? Or why don't
- 7:50S3: you stop fentanyl drugs coming into North America? Or the
- 7:54S3: message to Mexico, stop the immigrants coming across the border
- 7:58S3: and trade is all part of that negotiation with Australia,
- 8:01S3: I think. It's a different dynamic, which is they really
- 8:04S3: want no exceptions. So the issue for Australia is that
- 8:08S3: if we get a special deal, it complicates the situation
- 8:11S3: for them on other fronts. And in their second administration
- 8:16S3: they are more determined. They're much more hardline in a way.
- 8:20S3: They kind of know what they're doing better than in
- 8:22S3: their first administration. So that's why there is this no
- 8:26S3: free breaks here.
- 8:27S1: Yeah, there's more of a single mindedness this time. Shane,
- 8:30S1: previously Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister, managed to have Australia
- 8:33S1: exempted from damaging tariffs. Can you tell us what arguments
- 8:36S1: he used to win Trump over and grant an exception
- 8:39S1: last time?
- 8:40S2: Well, Malcolm Turnbull went the first argument about yes tariffs
- 8:44S2: will hurt yourself. So I think Justin Trudeau overnight actually
- 8:48S2: pointed out Canadians will be worse off. Americans will be
- 8:51S2: worse off. But that's being a rationalist, well thought out
- 8:55S2: constructed argument in the argument between Malcolm Turnbull. It was
- 8:59S2: we you guys run a trade surplus with us, which
- 9:02S2: comes back to this whole idea that if I'm running
- 9:05S2: a deficit, well, it's terrible, even though.
- 9:09S1: That means I'm getting.
- 9:09S2: Ripped.
- 9:10S1: Off. Yeah.
- 9:11S2: For a guy who bankrupted so many of his own casinos. Yeah,
- 9:15S2: it's a strange approach because he knows how to lose money. Um,
- 9:18S2: but that's not how trade works, sadly. But that was
- 9:21S2: the main argument. And that's again, you can see it
- 9:23S2: in the argument, say, from Don Farrell. That's come through already,
- 9:26S2: the trade minister here that the US is running a
- 9:29S2: trade surplus with the United States.
- 9:31S1: So sorry with Australia.
- 9:33S2: Donald Trump, you're already winning. You're already winning in a
- 9:36S2: bigly way against us.
- 9:37S1: So just to clear that up, at the moment the
- 9:40S1: US has a trade surplus with Australia. As in they
- 9:42S1: sell more stuff to us than we sell to them.
- 9:44S2: Yep. Certainly do. Like for instance, like we imported about
- 9:48S2: $1 billion worth of American airplanes, uh, in December last year.
- 9:52S2: Like it increased the trade deficit between us and them,
- 9:57S2: but we run a huge trade surplus with China, where
- 10:01S2: unlike the United States in that regards, which would be
- 10:03S2: utterly confusing for the US administration as well.
- 10:14S1: People like the Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro are accusing Australia,
- 10:18S1: having effectively reneged on what they say is a deal
- 10:22S1: that Australia would sort of roll back or ease up
- 10:25S1: on its aluminium exports to the United States. So they
- 10:29S1: say this deal was struck with Scott Morrison. David, you
- 10:32S1: wrote about it in a really interesting piece this week
- 10:35S1: at a at a dinner that they all had together,
- 10:37S1: the Australians and the Americans. And this guy Navarro says
- 10:41S1: that Australia is flooding the US market with with cheap aluminium.
- 10:46S1: That's not true, is it?
- 10:47S3: No, it's not true. We're a tiny supplier. When you
- 10:50S3: look at all the other suppliers of aluminium into the
- 10:52S3: US market. Canada sends in about 30 times the times
- 10:57S3: the volume of Australia. We're number eight on the list
- 11:00S3: of countries sending aluminium in. Peter Navarro also said our
- 11:04S3: companies are backed by China and that's just not true.
- 11:08S3: Rio Tinto's got 14% ownership by a Chinese aluminium company,
- 11:12S3: but it's not deciding the management of Rio Tinto. So
- 11:15S3: it's interesting that these claims are coming out of the
- 11:17S3: white House, but they're wrong. And that gets back to
- 11:21S3: some of that negotiation about a verbal commitment that the
- 11:25S3: white House believes the Australian side made to limit aluminium exports.
- 11:30S3: That goes back to a dinner in Japan in 2019
- 11:33S3: at the G20 summit. And of course, there are different
- 11:35S3: memories of a verbal commitment. There's nothing in writing to
- 11:38S3: show what we agreed.
- 11:39S1: Isn't there one guy who could clear this up quite
- 11:41S1: nicely for us? Scott Morrison, who's now, I believe, working
- 11:45S1: in the United States with close ties to the Trump administration.
- 11:48S3: And he has not commented. Mike Pompeo, who's a friend
- 11:51S3: of Scott Morrison, was also in the room. Several others
- 11:54S3: in the room. Scott Morrison hasn't commented. Others who were
- 11:57S3: in the room have talked about the fact that there
- 12:00S3: was an understanding that Australia would not send too much
- 12:03S3: aluminium into the US market, but it wasn't an understanding
- 12:07S3: in perpetuity. And of course, in the meantime, we've had
- 12:10S3: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which means there have been
- 12:13S3: sanctions on Russian suppliers of aluminium, which means other suppliers
- 12:17S3: of aluminium become more important. So we ship a bit more.
- 12:20S3: There's been a lower Australian dollar, which changes the game.
- 12:24S3: There's been the Biden administration for four years in the middle.
- 12:28S3: So the world changed. But people like Pete Navarro in
- 12:31S3: the white House don't want to acknowledge that. They want
- 12:34S3: to get back to what they wanted in the first
- 12:37S3: Trump administration and go harder. What I found really interesting
- 12:41S3: about this was when Pete Navarro said things that were
- 12:44S3: quite untrue about Australian aluminium exports. I really struggled to
- 12:50S3: get commentary on that and a and a repudiation of
- 12:54S3: that from the Prime Minister's Office from Trade Minister Don Farrell,
- 13:00S3: from the opposition, trade spokesperson, from the aluminium industry, from
- 13:04S3: other industry chiefs and from the aluminium exporters. So when
- 13:08S3: you get a lie in Washington, D.C., nobody in Australia
- 13:12S3: wants to come out and call it a lie because
- 13:15S3: they're so worried about escalating the tension with the people
- 13:19S3: around Donald Trump.
- 13:20S1: And I mean, that's part of the full press kind
- 13:22S1: of bullying of this administration, isn't it, that, you know,
- 13:25S1: you can put lies and false information out there, knowing
- 13:28S1: full well that other people will be too intimidated to
- 13:30S1: push back on those lies. And then the news environment
- 13:34S1: and the negotiating environment is informed by those lies as
- 13:37S1: though they're truths.
- 13:38S3: And also, we'll then later get politicians who complain about
- 13:42S3: this terrible misinformation that spreads around the world. Well, I
- 13:46S3: tried to get people to repudiate the misinformation and they
- 13:49S3: ran for cover.
- 13:49S1: Yeah, thank God we're here to do it for on
- 13:52S1: their behalf. Just just very quickly, Shane, if these tariffs
- 13:55S1: are imposed on us. It's obviously devastating for the industries involved.
- 13:59S1: Steel and aluminium. But will it have devastating or any
- 14:02S1: sort of broad impacts on the Australian economy more generally?
- 14:05S2: I'm not convinced. It's a it's devastating for the steel
- 14:08S2: and aluminium industry of Australia. Okay. Like we've just we
- 14:11S2: just saw China impose $20 billion worth of tariffs. And
- 14:15S2: I'll give the example of barley. Barley exports are worth
- 14:18S2: more than steel and aluminium.
- 14:20S1: As in our exports to barley.
- 14:22S2: Our exports to China. We're worth more right. Barley gets
- 14:25S2: shut out. Where did the barley grow? Barley production and
- 14:29S2: exports in this country actually hit a record high. Mexican
- 14:32S2: beer producers are loving Australian barley. For instance, Saudi Arabia
- 14:38S2: took up all this extra Australian barley. So this idea
- 14:41S2: that it stops like its end of days is just
- 14:46S2: not true.
- 14:46S1: Basically, those industries will find other markets or will find other,
- 14:50S1: other avenues to sell the same material.
- 14:52S2: Yeah. The bigger problem with tariffs is right. He pushes
- 14:57S2: up the price of goods in the United States. So
- 14:59S2: when he did it last time, steel and aluminium employment
- 15:03S2: rose by about 5000. The industries that use the more
- 15:07S2: expensive steel and aluminium lost about 75,000 jobs. That's. And
- 15:11S2: that's an impact on him. But if, say, there's a
- 15:14S2: retribution from the Canadians and the or the Europeans, you
- 15:18S2: get an increase in inflation. Jerome Powell, the head of
- 15:21S2: the US fed this week. He is signaling we may
- 15:24S2: not they may not cut interest rates in the United
- 15:26S2: States this year because there's going to be an inflationary
- 15:29S2: pulse caused by Donald Trump. But then he will deny
- 15:32S2: it's him. He will blame everybody else.
- 15:35S1: So so the broader effects you're saying are more, um,
- 15:38S1: because the Australian economy is a globalized economy. We we
- 15:42S1: depend upon a rules based order and the principles of
- 15:45S1: free trade. And if there's this.
- 15:47S2: They're being ripped up at the.
- 15:48S1: Moment by.
- 15:49S2: That's by the that's the issue. My, my test is
- 15:52S2: how far will Trump go. Yeah. So Trump as we
- 15:55S2: know loves Big Macs. A lot of beef in those
- 15:59S2: Big Macs is Australian beef. We are a very big
- 16:02S2: supplier of beef, along with the Mexicans and Canadians and
- 16:06S2: the Brazilians. And if he goes full war, full trade war,
- 16:11S2: which he's signalled, which means putting tariffs on everything. Will
- 16:15S2: he hold the line when it comes to the price
- 16:17S2: of his Big Mac going up?
- 16:19S1: And he also personally loves Big Mac. So maybe we've
- 16:21S1: got that in our favour coming back home. David, I
- 16:24S1: want to talk about the Australian domestic sort of impact
- 16:26S1: of this, because this is a huge test for Anthony Albanese.
- 16:29S1: What's at stake for him here if he fails and Trump,
- 16:32S1: you know, says to hell with Australia. How damaging is
- 16:35S1: that for him? And conversely, if he manages to get
- 16:39S1: an exemption granted, does that make him look like a hero?
- 16:42S1: That and he can sort of triumphantly declare an election?
- 16:46S3: I think it works in those two ways. Personal authority
- 16:49S3: is at stake. Uh, sort of personal prestige, the perception
- 16:53S3: of his competency and his ability to stand up for Australia,
- 16:57S3: which is the central function of of his office. But
- 17:02S3: bear in mind what change has said. The economic damage
- 17:05S3: to Australia on aluminium and steel is not that great.
- 17:08S3: It's not like there would be thousands and thousands of
- 17:12S3: jobs being lost where people are queuing up at the
- 17:15S3: employment centres. It's so it doesn't work quite that way.
- 17:18S3: But he has to have a message on how he's
- 17:22S3: going to handle it, and he's got to be prepared
- 17:24S3: for not getting the exemption because I think, contrary to
- 17:27S3: the positive vibe that the government wants to send about
- 17:30S3: this exemption being under consideration, I think that the the
- 17:34S3: trade hawks in that in the white House are really
- 17:37S3: going to push Donald Trump hard on this to have
- 17:39S3: no exemptions at all. And I think that's very challenging
- 17:42S3: for Anthony Albanese to handle, because that is a blow
- 17:45S3: to his authority. He doesn't look like he's been able
- 17:47S3: to negotiate with Donald Trump. And then you get a
- 17:49S3: live question going into the election campaign, who is the
- 17:53S3: best leader to handle an extremely volatile global situation. And
- 17:58S3: that's where Peter Dutton exploits the scenario, to present himself
- 18:02S3: as somebody who can negotiate better with Donald Trump.
- 18:04S2: But I just want to add, we're just talking about
- 18:06S2: steel and aluminium, which the tariffs don't kick in until
- 18:09S2: March 12th. We've got weeks in which Donald Trump could
- 18:13S2: announce tariffs on other things. And that is going to
- 18:17S2: be a real threat. And yes, I think the politics
- 18:22S2: are pretty tough for Albanese. But for if Peter Dutton
- 18:27S2: says I'll be able to get a deal on anything,
- 18:29S2: I don't think anyone that's that's not quite believable. If
- 18:32S2: there's tariffs on everything else, which is that is the
- 18:35S2: stated policy position of Donald Trump.
- 18:38S1: Isn't there a political calculation, though, that you would make
- 18:41S1: as a voter where you think, well, you know, we've
- 18:42S1: got this giant bully on the world stage who is
- 18:45S1: throwing his weight around and he's throwing it in our direction.
- 18:48S1: You can either you know, Albanese has tried to sort
- 18:51S1: of paint himself, I suppose, as the reasonable leader, and
- 18:53S1: Dutton just wants to wants to fight. Dutton's tried to
- 18:56S1: paint himself as a strong leader who is able to
- 18:59S1: stand up to the likes of Donald Trump or whoever.
- 19:02S1: I mean, who do you want to confront, Donald Trump?
- 19:05S3: Well, I think the complicating factor is the the care with, with,
- 19:10S3: with which Peter Dutton has got to manage that situation,
- 19:13S3: because if he looks like he is siding with Donald
- 19:17S3: Trump in any way or exploiting what Donald Trump is
- 19:20S3: doing for his own personal political advantage, then I think
- 19:24S3: it's got incredible potential to backfire completely because, um, because
- 19:31S3: let's face it, Donald Trump is the problem here. Um,
- 19:34S3: and Australian voters generally don't like Donald Trump. They would
- 19:38S3: have preferred a different presidential candidate to win that election.
- 19:43S3: So siding with Donald Trump is not the way to
- 19:45S3: do it. And Peter Dutton this week was very careful
- 19:48S3: to say it would be damaging to Australia if Donald
- 19:50S3: Trump went ahead with the tariffs.
- 19:52S7: What's important now is that the Trump administration hears that
- 19:56S7: there is a bipartisan position in Australia to stand up
- 19:59S7: for our national interest. If it stays in place, then
- 20:01S7: I think it damages the relationship.
- 20:03S3: However, he's also praised Donald Trump as a big thinker
- 20:06S3: on things like Gaza, which so he, Peter Dutton, has
- 20:09S3: not got his message straight yet about where he stands. Um,
- 20:16S3: you know, with or against Donald Trump. And that's going
- 20:18S3: to be incredibly complicated because Donald Trump is going to
- 20:22S3: do a lot of things every day, and it's going
- 20:24S3: to be. Uh, you know, show interrupting our election campaign
- 20:31S3: on a daily basis.
- 20:32S1: Yeah. I mean, one Trump, one thing Trump does better
- 20:34S1: than anything is to control every part of the news
- 20:37S1: cycle all the time, be everywhere all the time. And
- 20:40S1: it must be very, very hard, as an Australian politician
- 20:43S1: not to get drawn into that huge political risks on
- 20:45S1: both sides. Just quickly, David, when are we likely to
- 20:48S1: get a resolution to this? I mean, when are we
- 20:50S1: going to know whether or not we are granted an exemption?
- 20:54S3: Technically, I think we need it by March. The the
- 20:57S3: tariffs are due to start from March 1st. Right. If
- 20:59S3: we don't have an exemption by March 1st, then clearly
- 21:03S3: we're copying it. But we did find with the Malcolm
- 21:07S3: Turnbull negotiation and with the Scott Morrison negotiation, you get
- 21:10S3: an agreement or an understanding with Donald Trump. But his
- 21:13S3: team come back at you the next year and try
- 21:16S3: and renege on it. Then you have to fight it
- 21:19S3: all over again. Then they come back the following year
- 21:22S3: and they and they push back. And then you've got
- 21:24S3: to negotiate all over again. So it it kind of
- 21:26S3: never ends. Even if there was some understanding before March 1st,
- 21:31S3: I don't think you can really take it to the bank.
- 21:33S1: Yeah. Um, gents, this is such an interesting discussion, and
- 21:35S1: I'm sure we're going to revisit it. Should we send
- 21:38S1: Donald a giant crate of Tim Tams? Would he prefer Vegemite?
- 21:43S1: Should we threaten beef exports? What can we do here?
- 21:47S2: I think it's it's got to be beef because I
- 21:49S2: don't think his palate would extend to Vegemite.
- 21:51S1: You don't think he's a Tim Tam guy? Like, maybe
- 21:55S1: he doesn't.
- 21:56S2: He never drinks Diet Coke. He. Maybe he doesn't want
- 21:59S2: the sweetness of that.
- 22:00S1: Yeah, maybe. Maybe he's watching his figure. Okay, um. Well, TBA. Thanks, guys.
- 22:05S1: Very interesting, as always. And we'll see you both again soon.
- 22:08S3: Cheers.
- 22:08S2: Thanks, Jackie.
- 22:09S3: See you.
- 22:10S1: Today's episode of Inside Politics was produced by Tammy Mills
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