“Australia is just killing our aluminium market,” says Trump's top trade adviser Peter Navarro

In this role, Navarro will be responsible for advancing and effectively communicating Trump's Manufacturing, Tariff, and Trade Agendas, Trump stated in a series of posts on Truth Social. Navarro, a key trade advisor during Trump's first term, will once again play a pivotal role in shaping the administration's economic policies.

Australia successfully negotiated an exemption when the first Trump administration imposed new tariffs on aluminium and steel imports in 2018. However, the US claims a verbal agreement was made, under which Australia pledged not to exploit its exemption by significantly increasing aluminium exports to the US.

As senior trade and manufacturing counsellor for US President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro is adamant that the agreement has not been met.