TV interview with Kieran Gilbert, Sky News

Kieran Gilbert: Let's go live to the Trade Minister, Don Farrell. He joins us from Adelaide. You got a mention there, as well as the scathing critique of the Prime Minister by the Opposition Leader. He says he's hopeless, he's made a bad day worse because of his failures, and he said, you're a "hapless Trade Minister." How do you respond to that critique by the Opposition Leader?

Minister for Trade: Look, I ignore these insults Kieran. I don't think it's helpful on a day like today. Today is a very bad day for our relationship with the United States. This is not the way allies should treat one another. And I'm extremely disappointed that our efforts to get an exemption for steel and aluminium were not received receptively by the United States.

But we don't give up. When I came to this job three years ago, Kieran, we had $20 billion worth of trade impediments with China. People told me it was not going to be possible to get that trade back and have those tariffs lifted. Well, at the end of last year, as you know, the last of those tariffs, those 20 billion tariffs were lifted. Crayfish was the final product. I was down at Port Adelaide, here in Adelaide on the weekend, we've sold $33 million worth of crayfish from SA back into China in the first month of getting our trade back in there. And that's double what we got on the highest ever month before the impediments were introduced. 

Gilbert: You were critical of the former government, though. To be fair, you've been critical of the former government, you and your government, for the Coalition's inability to get contact with the Chinese. The corollary of that, is it not that the Prime Minister can't even get a phone call now or follow up with the President? Isn't that a similar failure, Minister?

Minister for Trade: That's apples and pears I'm afraid, Kieran. The Prime Minister did have a meeting with, or, sorry, a call with President Trump a couple of weeks ago. Even though President Trump, minutes before that or minutes after that conversation took place, said that there would be no exemptions to any country in respect of steel and aluminium. He did indicate that there might be an opportunity for Australia to get an exemption. And since that time, the government has been working with the relevant people in the United States to act on that to see whether or not it was going to be possible to get an exemption. So, I think we have done absolutely everything we could do in the circumstances.

Gilbert: Should he have just gone there?

Minister for Trade: But we’ve put the arguments, and the arguments were pretty simple.

Gilbert: Given he's not taking a call now. He took a call a few weeks ago, should the PM have just flown there, gone to the Oval Office?

Minister for Trade: Having seen what's happened in respect of every other Prime Minister, every other ambassador and every other Trade Minister that's gone to the United States, the result has been no different, Kieran. Not a single country that supplies aluminium or steel to the United States has been able to extract an exemption. And I guess from my point of view, the disappointing thing is that if the Americans had simply told us right at the start that, "forget about it, there is going to be no exemptions, no country is going to be exempted from these tariffs". And I think that was their intention all along, I have to say, looking back at what's happened over the last few weeks, that would have been a far easier situation.

Gilbert: So, do you think they played the government along? They played Australia along, did they?

Minister for Trade: Look, I don't believe that there was any intention on the part of the United States government to give us an exemption. I heard your conversation with Mr Dutton. We did all of the things that Mr Dutton claimed he would have done. Now, I ask this to you, Kieran. Do you think that if it was Mr Dutton and his team that was doing this negotiation, the result would have been any different, particularly in light of some of the events that occurred earlier this week? The answer to that, I think, is a comprehensive no. We did what we thought was appropriate. After the conversation between the Prime Minister and the President, we engaged with all of the relevant officials. We did that extensively over the last weekend.

Gilbert: Does it damage the alliance do you think? Do you think it damages the alliance?

Minister for Trade: Look, I hope it doesn't. My grandfather fought with the Americans in France in 1918. My dad fought with the Americans in Darwin between 1942 and 1945. We've had a strong relationship with the United States. As I say, this is not how allies should treat one another. But we haven't given up. We didn't give up when we were told we couldn't get those bans lifted by China. We're not going to give up here. I remember this, Kieran, from the time that the – let's call it Trump Mark One announced that there was going to be tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium. It was nine months before we get a positive decision to reverse those tariffs. We know as a government that we are capable. We are capable of getting other countries to lift tariffs on Australia. Disappointingly, we didn't do it this time, but we haven't given up. We're going to keep working on this, Kieran. And I say to the Australian people, yes, we should be disappointed at the result today, but this is not a government that gives up. We are an action government. We get our hands dirty. We get down and have these discussions as we've been having them over the last few weeks. And we're going to continue to do that, Kieran, until we get a result where these tariffs are reversed.

Gilbert: You haven't given up and obviously the government, you as Trade Minister, Ambassador as well, Rudd continues. But isn't it embarrassing, Mr Rudd's meeting with Lutnick, the commerce secretary, at the same time the White House press secretary's briefing journalists, that we don't get an exemption, isn't that a little embarrassing? Doesn't it suggest that he's ineffectual at his job?

Minister for Trade: Well, the first point is that I reject that. Kevin Rudd is the right man in the right place right at the moment. And can I say for myself, and I probably speak for Ambassador Rudd here, we've had plenty of other more embarrassing things happen to us over a lifetime in politics. Sometimes, you've just got to put up with the embarrassment. Kieran it's part of the job, I'm afraid.

Gilbert: Trade Minister Don Farrell, we very much appreciate your time on a big day. We're just out of time, but thanks for joining us on NewsDay.