Pressure on Albanese to meet Trump and raise defence spending
The pressure is ramping up on Anthony Albanese to meet Donald Trump. As The Australian Financial Review 's Washington correspondent, Jessica Gardner, reports, US congressional politicians fighting to help save the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact are calling on the prime minister to prioritise visiting the White House to forge closer personal ties with the president.
It's good tactical advice from members of congress on both sides of the aisle. Leaders who pay court in person are more likely to extract a beneficial deal from the transactional president. Yet this can prove risky, as the Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February dramatically highlighted.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
32 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Albanese downplays China's defence warning
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is downplaying a recent warning from China over Australia's defence spending. This comes as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Australia to lift its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP to help counter Chinese aggression. Defence Minister Richard Marles described it as 'the most significant military build-up' Australia has ever seen.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
US intercepts Iranian call on damage to nuclear sites, as photos show likely repairs under way
Washington: An intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials suggests the United States did not inflict as much damage as anticipated when it struck Iran's nuclear sites earlier this month, despite US President Donald Trump claiming the assault 'obliterated' the facilities. Satellite photographs taken since the strikes show repair and assessment work also appears to be under way at two of the three sites struck on June 22. The intercepted Iranian communication played down the extent of damage caused by the strikes, The Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government. During the conversation overheard by the US, the Iranian officials wondered why the attacks had not been as destructive and extensive as anticipated. But a source who declined to be named told Reuters that while the communication had been intercepted, there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful in their conversation, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators. The report by the Post is the latest to raise questions about the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program. Loading A leaked preliminary assessment from the Defence Intelligence Agency cautioned the strikes may have only set back Iran by months, and the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, concurred with that on Sunday, saying Iran may be able to enrich uranium again within 'a matter of months'. But CIA director John Ratcliffe told sceptical US lawmakers in a classified hearing last week that the strikes had destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility, a US official said, meaning it would now take years for Iran to build a nuclear bomb. Ratcliffe also told politicians that the intelligence community assessed that the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium probably remained buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordow, two of the three facilities the US struck.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Warning for Albanese government after US President Donald Trump pressures Canada into rescinding digital services tax
Labor has been delivered a stark warning amid negotiations with the United States after the Canadian government said it was rescinding its digital-services tax to salvage trade discussions with Donald Trump. Canada's planned digital tax was three per cent of the digital services revenue a firm reaps from Canadian users above CA$20m in a calendar year, and payments were to be retroactive to 2022. The tax would have targeted major tech giants including Facebook-owner Meta, Google-owner Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and others. Trump abruptly called off trade talks on Friday over the tax targeting US technology firms, saying that it was a "blatant attack" before reiterating this on Sunday and pledging a new tariff rate on Canadian goods. The US President and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will now resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21, Canada's finance ministry said in a statement. The back-and-forth comes as a warning for the Albanese government's news media bargaining incentive which will force technology giants to pay local news outlets for their content. After Trump began revealing his array of tariffs, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to defend the legislation targeting the tech giants. 'We have been crystal clear with the United States about what is not up for negotiation,' he said in April. 'Our government stands by our media bargaining code. We strongly support local content in streaming services, so Australian stories stay on Australian screens.' Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino last week stressed the incentive remained a 'key priority' for Labor amid negotiations with the Trump Administration. 'This is a policy the government remains committed to,' Mr Mulino said, according to the Australian Financial Review. Concerns about Australia's media bargaining code arose recently as section 899 of Trump's 'big beautiful bill' threatened a 15 per cent tax on nations the US believes unfairly treats its companies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rolled back the legislation after reaching an 'understanding' with the G7 where American companies would be exempt for the new global minimum 15 per cent corporate tax. Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the news after engaging with Mr Bessent last week to make Australia's case against section 899. 'In that meeting he said he was progressing what he could to try and resolve these issues, and we're really pleased to see some of that progress in his announcement today,' Chalmers said. 'Australia will continue to engage constructively through the OECD on international tax rules that are fair and ensure multinationals pay their fair share in Australia."
