US tariffs 'second fiddle' to overseas student caps
President Donald Trump's tariffs have become arguably the biggest economic story of the year, with most Australian goods being hit with a 10 per cent levy while 50 per cent tariffs are imposed on steel and aluminium sent to the US.
But the direct impact of the measures on Australia is relatively small as most exports tend to go to China, Japan and Korea, according to University of Sydney economics lecturer Luke Hartigan.
The bigger issue may be one Australia has already inflicted on itself.
"It's important to look at the larger scheme of things," Dr Hartigan told AAP.
"The tariff exemption is important, but if we wanted to shoot ourselves in the foot, we would reduce the number of international students."
"What's happening with our tariffs with the US is second fiddle."
International student education was worth $51 billion for the Australian economy in 2023/24, but both political parties have vowed to slash numbers, with Labor already revealing a 270,000 cap from 2025 after more than 445,000 commenced study the year before.
Dr Hartigan said international students were important for soft power.
"They get to see Australian culture, they get to learn about Australia and they go back and speak favourably about Australia, so it's a very positive thing," he said.
But most Australian political commentary has taken on the tariff issue, especially as Mr Trump is set to lift his tariff pause on July 9.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will continue negotiating for exemptions while keeping the national interest in mind, and dismissed Trump-style isolationist policies.
However, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan has said the government has "waved the white flag" and called out Mr Albanese for failing to meet Mr Trump face-to-face.
"There are countries dealing and talking to the new US president, but not ours ... it is embarrassing," Mr Hogan said.
Australia could feel some indirect effects when the pause lifts, Dr Hartigan said.
Tariffs on China could cause issues for Australia and uncertainty around the levies could play out in the stock market.
Australia's limits on international students could be a bigger issue than US tariffs, an expert has warned.
President Donald Trump's tariffs have become arguably the biggest economic story of the year, with most Australian goods being hit with a 10 per cent levy while 50 per cent tariffs are imposed on steel and aluminium sent to the US.
But the direct impact of the measures on Australia is relatively small as most exports tend to go to China, Japan and Korea, according to University of Sydney economics lecturer Luke Hartigan.
The bigger issue may be one Australia has already inflicted on itself.
"It's important to look at the larger scheme of things," Dr Hartigan told AAP.
"The tariff exemption is important, but if we wanted to shoot ourselves in the foot, we would reduce the number of international students."
"What's happening with our tariffs with the US is second fiddle."
International student education was worth $51 billion for the Australian economy in 2023/24, but both political parties have vowed to slash numbers, with Labor already revealing a 270,000 cap from 2025 after more than 445,000 commenced study the year before.
Dr Hartigan said international students were important for soft power.
"They get to see Australian culture, they get to learn about Australia and they go back and speak favourably about Australia, so it's a very positive thing," he said.
But most Australian political commentary has taken on the tariff issue, especially as Mr Trump is set to lift his tariff pause on July 9.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will continue negotiating for exemptions while keeping the national interest in mind, and dismissed Trump-style isolationist policies.
However, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan has said the government has "waved the white flag" and called out Mr Albanese for failing to meet Mr Trump face-to-face.
"There are countries dealing and talking to the new US president, but not ours ... it is embarrassing," Mr Hogan said.
Australia could feel some indirect effects when the pause lifts, Dr Hartigan said.
Tariffs on China could cause issues for Australia and uncertainty around the levies could play out in the stock market.
Australia's limits on international students could be a bigger issue than US tariffs, an expert has warned.
President Donald Trump's tariffs have become arguably the biggest economic story of the year, with most Australian goods being hit with a 10 per cent levy while 50 per cent tariffs are imposed on steel and aluminium sent to the US.
But the direct impact of the measures on Australia is relatively small as most exports tend to go to China, Japan and Korea, according to University of Sydney economics lecturer Luke Hartigan.
The bigger issue may be one Australia has already inflicted on itself.
"It's important to look at the larger scheme of things," Dr Hartigan told AAP.
"The tariff exemption is important, but if we wanted to shoot ourselves in the foot, we would reduce the number of international students."
"What's happening with our tariffs with the US is second fiddle."
International student education was worth $51 billion for the Australian economy in 2023/24, but both political parties have vowed to slash numbers, with Labor already revealing a 270,000 cap from 2025 after more than 445,000 commenced study the year before.
Dr Hartigan said international students were important for soft power.
"They get to see Australian culture, they get to learn about Australia and they go back and speak favourably about Australia, so it's a very positive thing," he said.
But most Australian political commentary has taken on the tariff issue, especially as Mr Trump is set to lift his tariff pause on July 9.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will continue negotiating for exemptions while keeping the national interest in mind, and dismissed Trump-style isolationist policies.
However, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan has said the government has "waved the white flag" and called out Mr Albanese for failing to meet Mr Trump face-to-face.
"There are countries dealing and talking to the new US president, but not ours ... it is embarrassing," Mr Hogan said.
Australia could feel some indirect effects when the pause lifts, Dr Hartigan said.
Tariffs on China could cause issues for Australia and uncertainty around the levies could play out in the stock market.
Australia's limits on international students could be a bigger issue than US tariffs, an expert has warned.
President Donald Trump's tariffs have become arguably the biggest economic story of the year, with most Australian goods being hit with a 10 per cent levy while 50 per cent tariffs are imposed on steel and aluminium sent to the US.
But the direct impact of the measures on Australia is relatively small as most exports tend to go to China, Japan and Korea, according to University of Sydney economics lecturer Luke Hartigan.
The bigger issue may be one Australia has already inflicted on itself.
"It's important to look at the larger scheme of things," Dr Hartigan told AAP.
"The tariff exemption is important, but if we wanted to shoot ourselves in the foot, we would reduce the number of international students."
"What's happening with our tariffs with the US is second fiddle."
International student education was worth $51 billion for the Australian economy in 2023/24, but both political parties have vowed to slash numbers, with Labor already revealing a 270,000 cap from 2025 after more than 445,000 commenced study the year before.
Dr Hartigan said international students were important for soft power.
"They get to see Australian culture, they get to learn about Australia and they go back and speak favourably about Australia, so it's a very positive thing," he said.
But most Australian political commentary has taken on the tariff issue, especially as Mr Trump is set to lift his tariff pause on July 9.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will continue negotiating for exemptions while keeping the national interest in mind, and dismissed Trump-style isolationist policies.
However, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan has said the government has "waved the white flag" and called out Mr Albanese for failing to meet Mr Trump face-to-face.
"There are countries dealing and talking to the new US president, but not ours ... it is embarrassing," Mr Hogan said.
Australia could feel some indirect effects when the pause lifts, Dr Hartigan said.
Tariffs on China could cause issues for Australia and uncertainty around the levies could play out in the stock market.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
30 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Asian stocks slip amid US tariff confusion, oil skids
Stock markets have slipped in Asia amid much confusion as US officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide any detail or paperwork on the change, while oil prices slid as OPEC+ opened the supply spigots more than expected. The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1. "President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN. Trump in April announced a 10 per cent base tariff rate on most countries and higher "reciprocal" rates ranging up to 50 per cent, with an original deadline of this Wednesday. However, Trump also said levies could range in value from "maybe 60 per cent or 70 per cent tariffs to 10 per cent and 20 per cent", further clouding the picture. With very few actual trade deals done, analysts had suspected the date would be pushed out, though it was still not clear if the new deadline applied to all trading partners or just some. "This renewed escalation in trade tensions comes at a time when major trade partners, including the EU, India and Japan, are believed to be at crucial stages of bilateral negotiations," analysts at ANZ said in a note. "If reciprocal tariffs are implemented in their original form or even expanded, we believe it will intensify downside risks to US growth and increase upside risks to inflation." Investors have grown somewhat used to the uncertainty surrounding US trade policy and the initial market reaction was cautious. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.3 per cent. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3 per cent, while South Korean stocks fell 0.7 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 per cent. Safe-haven bonds were better bid, with 10-year Treasury yields down almost two basis points at 4.326 per cent. Major currencies were little changed as the dollar index continued to languish near four-year lows at 96.913. The euro held at $US1.1787, just off last week's top of $US1.1830, while the dollar dipped to 144.38 yen. The dollar has been undermined by investor concerns about Trump's often chaotic tariff policy and what that might do to economic growth and inflation. The same worries have kept the Federal Reserve from cutting rates and minutes of its last meeting should offer more colour on when the majority of members might resume easing. It is a relatively quiet week for Fed speakers with only two district presidents on the docket, while economic data is also sparse. The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to cut its rates by a quarter point to 3.60 per cent at a meeting on Tuesday, the third easing this cycle, and markets imply an eventual destination for rates of 2.85 per cent or 3.10 per cent. New Zealand's central bank meets on Wednesday and is likely to hold rates at 3.25 per cent, having already slashed by 225 basis points over the past year. In commodity markets, gold slipped 0.3 per cent to $US3,324 an ounce , though it did gain almost two per cent last week as the dollar fell. Oil prices slid anew after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to raise production by a larger-than-expected 548,000 barrels per day in August. The group also warned that it could hike by a similar amount in September, leaving analysts with the impression it was trying to squeeze lower margin producers and particularly those pulling oil from US shale. Brent dropped 52 cents to $US67.78 a barrel, while US crude fell $US1.01 to $US65.99 per barrel.
7NEWS
31 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Nat Barr confronts senior Labor politician over PM's pointed jabs at US following multiple meeting failures with Trump
Sunrise's Nat Barr has confronted Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's perceived anti-Trump speech to honour wartime Labor leader John Curtin. Albanese spoke in Sydney to mark 80 years since Curtin's death, saying he would pursue Australia's national interest, even when they differ from those of the United States. Curtin was known for his resistance to pressure from the British and Americans, who wanted him to deploy troops to Burma, now Myanmar, after the fall of Singapore in World War II. The speech was widely reported as a snub to Donald Trump, with whom Albanese has consistently failed to meet following the US president's re-election in November. Meanwhile Albanese has met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping three times, with another meeting planned during a forthcoming trip to Beijing, which has raised eyebrows among political observers. Barr spoke with Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce on Monday, questioning the implications behind Albanese's speech. Barr asked Plibersek: 'Tanya, that was an interesting speech. It did feel like we were heading in another direction. When you have basically a conga line of defence experts lining up saying we need to be spending more on defence in this country.' Plibersek: '(Prime Minister Anthony Albanese) made the perfectly valid point that Australia, the Labor government, will always put Australian interests first.' Joyce: 'When they get a meeting with the president!' Plibersek: 'Why is that remarkable Barnaby?' Joyce: 'It is remarkable because we have been devoid of a relationship at the highest level. 'The prime minister and the president are not talking to one another in a face-to-face meeting. 'If you're going to put Australia first, you better get our defence relationship up to speed because the number one job is the protection of the Australian people. 'I didn't give that crazy speech that the Prime Minister gave at the John Curtin Institute where he said we might go our own way. With who's army? We are way behind, we have six submarines and at times, none of them work. 'We have frigates we sometimes can't find crews for. We have a defence force that is smaller in comparative power. In comparative terms, we have never been smaller against a major superpower. 'In comparative terms, not total terms.' Moving towards China Joyce took aim at Albanese saying Australia is moving closer to China, and further from the United States. 'This is very dangerous,' Joyce said. 'You need to understand the United States is the cornerstone of our defence relationship. It is not going well. 'This is the fourth meeting he has had with the leader of China but that is a totalitarian regime. 'Trump has not had a meeting with the prime minister yet. I'm truly concerned about that, especially while adding a review on AUKUS.' Barr asked: 'Shouldn't we make friends with China?' Joyce: 'We should but not at the expense of the US. You need to understand that we live in the realm of the western Pacific, if things go pear-shaped, we are in trouble, real trouble. 'If we have a defence policy that doesn't include the United States, we need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on defence. We are way, way behind where we need to be.' Barr asked: 'Is the prime pinister looking for a new best friend in China?' Plibersek: 'Your question started with the assumption that there is a fraying with the United States, and nothing could be further than the truth. 'The prime minister has spoken to the president on the phone, the defence minister met his counterpart recently, the foreign affairs minister has just been in the United States recently. 'Trade ministers ... All sorts of high-level dialogue (is) constantly going on with the United States and that is as it should be. 'The United States is absolutely our foundational defence and security partner. 'The relationship is terrific. 'We also would have a good trading relationship with China, under the previous Morrison government trading relationship had smashed our agricultural sector. We have restored $20 billion of trade with China. 'It is good for our farmers and good for Barnaby and his constituents. 'I would have thought he would be welcoming the restoration of trade with the stabilisation of the relationship. 'The prime minister has constantly said we cooperate with China where we can, we disagree where we must, and that has worked out very well for Australia in recent years.' Ambassador under fire Joyce appeared to call for Australia's Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd to go, echoing concerns that Rudd's past derogatory comments about Trump mean he can't effectively manage Australia's relationship with the US. '(The meeting failures are) not a sign of a good relationship,' Joyce said. 'If we can't extract the meeting between the prime minister and the president of the United States, we are in the background. 'I like Kevin Rudd, he's a nice guy. But he is not the ambassador for the United States. 'He needs to be moved to somewhere like the United Kingdom or France, and we have got to really work on this relationship because it is tenuous and that is dangerous, or (more) dangerous for Australia than it is for the US.' Relationship woes Barr asked Plibersek if Albanese's relationship with Trump is where the government wanted it to be. Plibersek replied: 'He's had multiple calls with the president.' Barr: 'One was a congratulations. I don't know whether that would count.' Plibersek: 'We were disappointed when the president needed to return quickly to Washington because the Middle East blew up. Anybody would understand the president of the United States would want to be back in Washington.' Joyce interjected: 'He talked to the prime minister of India, he just didn't talk to us.' Going backwards Plibersek and Joyce also sparred over criticism of Australia's military positioning from former Australian army and navy commanders. 'The former chiefs of the army and navy say we are in worse form than we were 20 or 30 years ago. That's who you need to listen to,' Barr said. Plibersek replied: '(The Coalition) could have started this project a decade ago, under the Coalition government.'
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
‘Gone off the rails': Trump destroys ‘trainwreck' Elon Musk in latest takedown
US President Donald Trump has again hit back at billionaire Elon Musk, claiming in a Truth Social post he had gone completely 'off the rails' and becoming a 'trainwreck'. This comes after Mr Musk announced he was forming a new political party in the US – the 'America Party' – to 'give you back your freedom'. 'The one thing third parties are good for is the creation of complete and total disruption and chaos, and we have enough of that with the radical left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds,' President Trump continued in his Truth Social post.
