TRUMP’S TARIFF BLOW; ADF PRIVATE PUSH

Trump strikes back on import tariffs after Supreme Court ruling

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would make “appropriate representations” after US President Donald Trump slapped a 15 per cent baseline tariff on all imports into the United States. Mr Albanese said the tariff was unfair and that his government supported free and fair trade, including for agricultural products. The White House initially imposed an across-the-board duty of 10 per cent on imports for 150 days, before the President raised it to 15 per cent. President Trump had responded after the US Supreme Court struck down the tariff regime introduced last April, which had cited the grounds of “national emergency.” (Australia was subject to the 10 per cent tariff rate imposed last April.) The White House said some goods would not be subject to the temporary import duty, including certain critical minerals, some natural resources and fertilisers, certain agricultural products, and pharmaceutical products. President Trump said he was invoking his authority under the Trade Act 1974, which empowered the President to address “certain fundamental international payment problems” through surcharges and other import restrictions.

Defence canvasses private capital for tech investment

As Australia seeks to ramp up defence spending, the Albanese Government is looking to tap into the private capital market for potential co-investment in the domestic defence industry. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said private capital investment would target advanced capabilities and exports in areas including cyber, artificial intelligence and autonomy, electronic warfare, quantum technologies and undersea warfare. Mr Conroy said the potential size of investment would be for a co-contribution of up to $500 million from the government. Once selected by Defence, the successful firms would work with government to develop the investment proposal further.

ADF claims 15-year high for recruitment numbers

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) recorded a 15-year high for the level of recruitment (on raw numbers) into the permanent ADF, a parliamentary committee has been told. Appearing before the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee of Senate Estimates, the Chief of Personnel, Natasha Fox, said the ADF’s permanent and full-time headcount at the end of 2024-25 was 61,189. Lieutenant-General Fox said the ADF met 77 per cent of its recruitment target, across all avenues of inflow. The Chief of the ADF, Admiral David Johnston, said the force grew by 2,500 over the 12-month period. Quizzed on the personnel implications of a major divestment of the Defence Estate, Deputy Secretary of the Security and Estate Group, Celia Perkins, said the Defence Force’s posture around Australia and its representation in major cities and regional areas would remain largely the same.

National jobless rate steady but wide disparity across states

Australia’s rate of unemployment remained at 4.1 per cent, seasonally-adjusted, in January, indicating continuing strength in the domestic economy. Monthly figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that unemployment has fallen since hitting a post-Covid high of 4.3 per cent in September. Across Australia, the unemployment rate varied widely in January, with Western Australia registering 3.4 per cent and South Australia recording 3.7 per cent; Tasmania, however, recorded a jobless rate of 4.9 per cent.

Primary industries take lead, as national productivity falls

A study by a key Federal Government economic advisory agency has provided a downcast view on the nation’s productivity record. The study by the Productivity Commission (PC) has found that multifactor productivity (MFP) – a measure of how well labour and capital inputs are combined to produce outputs – had decreased by 0.5 per cent over 2024-25. The PC noted the fall in productivity last fiscal year was well below the 20-year average of 0.4 per cent growth per year. Among industry sectors, agriculture, forestry and fishing achieved 10.4 per cent MFP growth in 2024-25, but the mining sector’s MFP fell by 3.2 per cent. The PC attributed declining productivity in part to a lower skills base, and also a potential misallocation of capital investment.