The President of the USA, Donald Trump, signed a trade agreement with the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, this Monday, 20, to establish a joint project for the exploration of critical minerals and investments in the military area.
“We never had any doubts about having Australia as an ally, we are going to take this relationship to the next level,” said Trump, in comments to reporters after signing the agreement and minutes before his bilateral meeting with the Australian prime minister.
Trump stated that he is also in talks with other countries for partnerships in critical minerals, rare earths and military equipment – such as ammunition, weapons, among others. According to him, the US will have “a lot of rare earth material” in about a year.
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In his comments, Albanese revealed that Japan is also expected to participate in the project to process critical and rare earth minerals, in an initiative that will see US and Australian investments of US$1 billion over the next six months. Albanese expressed gratitude for the opportunities offered by the US and the work of the Trump administration to achieve a ceasefire in the Middle East.
When questioned, Trump defended the tariffs on Australian goods, claiming that the rates are among the lowest compared to those of other countries and that their imposition is necessary to guarantee US national security.
The American president also commented that Australia should buy more military planes from the US and that the business of American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is “going well”.
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Trump avoided directly answering a question about the United States considering increasing military support for Australia and sending nuclear weapons to “contain” China in the Asia-Pacific region. The American president said he could do this, but that he doesn’t see the need. “We are the greatest military power in the world. Neither China nor anyone else will threaten the USA,” he said, adding that the Americans would be ahead in the military and artificial intelligence (AI) race.
Despite this, Trump revealed that the production of submarines and naval military technology should also be one of the topics discussed with Albanese this Monday.
