Don't Take Trump's Trade Agenda 'Personally': Ex-Australian PM Morrison Decodes US Strategy

In an exclusive interaction with Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Republic Media Network, the former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said that the trade agenda that the US is pushing should not be taken as personal attack given that the Trump regime seeks to reset a global trade imbalance.

"The trade agenda pursued by the Trump administration is quite purposeful. But I wouldn't take it personally, as I suppose my point, what they are seeking to do is reset a global trade imbalance," the ex-Australian PM said, whilst assuring that that the re-industrialisation of the United States and in particular of its defence industrial base is critical to global security.

Further, he noted that Morrison it was important to acknowledge why US is doing it. 

"It is very much to ensure that they can continue to play the role that they see for themselves in supporting allies and principally advancing their own interests," he said.

"So, I understand how the trade signals can cause that frustration and can lead to a message being received which may not be encouraging. But I wouldn't, certainly wouldn't, take from that that there's an under-appreciation of the Indian Ocean theatre in the American security outlook and the role that India has to play in that," he added.

Breaking down the American way of building economic ties, he said, ""If I've noticed anything about the United States in how they're understanding alliances now, whether it's in security or trade, is they see them very much as a two-way street and they're not interested in partnerships with passengers. They're interested in partners with fellow travellers. And that means from Australia's point of view, we need to step up more on defence."

On Prime Minister Modi's approach to viewing global partnerships, he noted, "I admire what Prime Minister Modi has done. He has understood the bigger picture of the relationship and how keeping that together is really important for India's national interests." 

Also Read: AustralianSuper's $500 Million NIIF Top-Up: What It Means For India

This comes in the backdrop of PM Modi's ongoing visit to Australia. A major outcome of his visit was an agreement in the nuclear energy sector that will facilitate uranium supplies from Australia to India, providing a significant boost to New Delhi's clean energy ambitions and long-term energy security.

"In the field of nuclear energy, we have reached an important agreement today. This will open the way for uranium supplies from Australia to India and give fresh momentum to our clean energy goals," Modi said.

The two leaders also agreed to accelerate negotiations on the long-pending Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), building on the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed in 2022, which has substantially expanded bilateral trade. 

They also decided to expedite negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty to encourage greater two-way investments.