• Home
  • Mail
  • Tumblr
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Answers
  • Groups
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail

    Trump Reportedly Broke Another Promise, This Time To Australia

    Dominique Mosbergen
    ,
    HuffPost•March 6, 2018
    Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (left) and President Donald Trump at the White House on February 23, 2018.
    Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (left) and President Donald Trump at the White House on February 23, 2018.

    Australian media is accusing President Donald Trump of“reneging” on a promisehe reportedly made to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last year.

    Trump “emphatically” promised Turnbullthat Australian steel and aluminum would be exempt from any steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the U.S., the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The agreement, which was reportedly witnessed by several U.S. and Australian officials, occurred during the G20 meeting in Germany last July.

    EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump has broken on "emphatic" promise to Malcolm Turnbull to exempt Aussie steel and aluminium from US tariffs, witnessed by five officials#auspolhttps://t.co/clW7KNBrtm

    — Andrew Probyn (@andrewprobyn) March 5, 2018

    Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says it appears Donald Trump "has dudded Australia" on failing to keep his promise to Malcolm Turnbull to exempt Australian steel exports from planned tariffs in the US#auspol

    — Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) March 6, 2018

    Turnbull’s government reacted with shock last week when Trump announced that the U.S. would be imposing stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. In the immediate aftermath, Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo told local media that he was “seeking urgent clarification” from U.S. officials to see if Australia would be exempt. 

    “I’m not going to provide a commentary on the Trump administration’s trustworthiness,”Ciobo said on Saturday when it became clear that Australia would likely not be spared. 

    Any exemptions would ultimately be a decision for Trump, Ciobo said. However, White House officials have made clear thatcountry-specific exemptions were unlikely.

    Although the U.S. isnot a major market for Australian steel and aluminum exporters, Australian officials expressed concerns that the tariffs would trigger retaliatory measures that could deeply impact global trade. 

    “My concern remains that off the back of actions like this, we could see retaliatory measures put in place by other major economies.That’s in no-one’s interests,” Ciobo said. 

    Click herefor more promises Trump broke during his first year in office.

    This article originally appeared on HuffPost.