Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued stern words towards the United States today, saying that an updated list of grievances would not be changed on his watch.
The new list was published by the U.S. trade office, outlining issues it believed affected exports and covering a range of nations including Australia.
The USTO focused on Australia's pharmaceutical industry, biosecurity protections, and laws requiring social media platforms to pay for news.
However, Albanese hit back, saying to press today that none of these will be touched "on my watch".
U.S. President Donald Trump could dish out retaliations, with a round of new tariffs expected to be unveiled on 2 April, which he has labelled “liberation day”.
The list focused on Australia’s stricter biosecurity laws, which protect unique and vulnerable flora and fauna. It said they were creating a “barrier” to U.S. produce, including beef, pork, poultry, apples and pears.
The second key point the USTO disagreed with was Australia’s pharmaceutical laws. Thirdly, the News Media Bargaining Code, legislated under the former Morrison government.
This code requires social media platforms to pay and support news organisations, as fair trade for hosting news content on their platforms.
"The report has three things that are of concern, at least, to Australia: one is the news bargaining code, the second is pharmaceuticals and the third is biosecurity," Albanese said.
"Those issues are not up for negotiation. Not on my watch. We will negotiate sensibly but we won't undermine the biosecurity system."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton agreed with the Prime Minister’s stance when questioned if he would be open to changing these grievances.
"No, and I agree with the prime minister’s position, and I'd say this: I will stand up for our country's interests every day if I am given the great honour of being prime minister," Mr Dutton said.
"I'll stand up for our interests and negotiate the best possible outcome for Australia and I will not compromise on any of that for our country."
