Australia could become a “loser” if a US-China trade war breaks out in the coming Trump era, former Attorney General George Brandis has warned.
US President-elect Donald Trump promised during the election that he would introduce 60 percent tariffs on China with immediate effect once he takes office in January.
The proposed tariff has left many Australians wondering how it could affect the close export trade it shares with China.
Appearing on the ABC quiz show panel on Monday night, Brandis warned that Australia could become the “loser” of the potential global trade war between the two powers.
Making our position worse is the lack of Australian leaders with a close connection to Trump, with some even called upon to previously mock the former president, including US ambassador Kevin Rudd.
Without establishing a personal relationship, Trump could dismiss the effects of actions against China on Australia’s economy.
“Anything that hurts China – and particularly weakens Chinese demand for what we sell to them – will have an obvious impact on the Australian economy and will ripple through all sectors,” Brandis said.
‘There are very few countries in the world that are more exposed to international trade and free trade than Australia. We are a trading nation, an exporting nation.
Former Attorney General George Brandis (pictured) warned Australia would suffer if the US imposed high tariffs on China.
When asked by presenter Patricia Karvelas (pictured) why Australia’s future relationship with the US would be worse than under the Turnbull government, Brandis highlighted the unique relationship between him and Trump.
‘So we are at the front of the line of nations that will be harmed by American protectionism and economic nationalism.
“We will be the losers in a global trade war.”
Brandis now teaches at the Australian National University’s School of National Security following his return from a four-year stint as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
He also shared a vision of how Australia will “manage” President Trump in the coming years.
Brandis said Trump’s second term in office will be a very different landscape than ‘Trump 1.0’, which was largely based on the relationship then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had with the president.
The couple had a turbulent relationship while they were leaders simultaneously in 2017-2018, which included an infamous phone conversation about a controversial refugee resettlement deal just days after Trump was sworn in as president.
Brandis said: “Malcolm Turnbull was very, very good at handling Donald Trump, much better than virtually any world leader” (pictured, Donald and Melania Trump)
“I don’t think we should assume that the success that Malcolm Turnbull had, for example, with Trump 1.0 getting an exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump imposed back then, would be repeated,” Brandis said.
When asked by Q&A host Patricia Karvelas why Australia’s future relationship with the US would be worse than under the Turnbull government, Brandis highlighted the pair’s unique relationship.
“Malcolm Turnbull was very, very good at handling Donald Trump, much better than virtually any world leader,” he said.
‘I don’t think we should necessarily expect to have that.
Karvelas further pressed Brandis on why he did not believe Prime Minister Anthony Albanese or opposition leader Peter Dutton, if they won the next election, could handle Trump.
In response, Brandis said “there was a particular relationship between Turnbull and Trump.”
“They met each other, they kind of had similar backgrounds, they were big billionaires,” he said.
Brandis added that Turnbull and Trump were similar, but further clarified that “in some ways, certainly as businessmen,” they shared similarities.