Australia Defends Modern Slavery Laws Amid US Tariff Threat

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended Australia's modern slavery protections as the US proposes slapping a new tariff on Australian goods.

Washington has proposed placing a 12.5 per cent tariff on Australian goods, citing modern slavery and forced labour protections.

Speaking to ABC's AM program, Albanese says Australia has "robust, comprehensive and world-leading" forced labour and slavery laws.

Asked whether he's frustrated by the number of US proposals on tariffs, the prime minister says there's "ideological disagreement" between the two sides.

"The United States administration has broken with what was, decades-long understanding that tariffs are not positive for the country that is imposing them," Albanese says.

"They increase the costs of goods and services in the country that is applying them to its consumers and that free trade is in the interests of the global economy."

The prime minister says no notice was given to the Australian side on the proposed tariffs.

"One of the things that we asked for in international engagement, of course, is certainty. Australia and the United States are important allies."

Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended Australia's AUKUS pivot but refused to divulge specific details of just what Australia will be getting with its used submarines.

Marles was grilled by 7.30 host David Speers over the change in the deal on Wednesday night when he defended the lack of firepower of used Virginia-class subs compared to new ones.

Block six Virginia-class subs have triple the payload as block four but Marles said he was simply happy to be getting new subs.

"We're operating a fleet of submarines, and what you need as much as possible is consistency. And the Virginia class is going to greatly enhance our submarine capability relative to obviously what we have now," Marles told 7.30.

Asked to detail their age, the deputy prime minister tried to sidestep the question.

"Just how old will some of these submarines that Australia gets actually be?" Speers asked.

"I can't go into the specifics of that," Marles responded.

"Why can't you say? It's taxpayers paying for these submarines, don't they deserve to know?" Speers pressed.

"What we will be receiving is submarines that have gone through their first deep maintenance and will have a lot of years left in their life," Marles said.

"10 years, 15 years?" asked Speers.

"It is in fact more than both the numbers that you've just said," Marles finally relented without giving an exact figure.

The trade minister has met with his US counterpart after Washington proposed imposing a 12.5 per cent tariffs on Australian exports.

The US has proposed a tariff on most Australian goods, citing concerns about forced labour. It would replace Washington's 10 per cent global tariff, which expires on July 24, 2026.

Trade Minister Don Farrell met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the OECD Ministerial Meeting in Paris.

He told Greer that the proposed measures were unjustified and defended Australia's approach to addressing modern slavery.

Speaking on Channel Nine, Environment Minister Murray Watt says the government is still seeking details from the US about the proposed tariff.

"This came as a real surprise to ourselves and a lot of other countries that have this tariff slapped on them," Watt says.

"We just think that this tariff is completely unfair."

Hello and welcome to today's federal politics live blog! It's great to have you join us here early this Thursday morning.

I'm Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news.

First up, the trade minister has met with his US counterpart after Washington announced a proposed 12.5 per cent tariff on Australian exports. You'll hear more about that soon.

And the first tranche of the government's budget measures are expected to pass the House of Representatives today.

It includes changes to the capital gains tax, negative gearing, the $250 Working Australians Tax Offset and $1,000 instant tax deduction.

Let's go!!!!!!