Sarah Abo: Welcome back. Well, Donald Trump's new global tariffs have come into effect at 10%, despite the US president's pledge to introduce them at a higher rate.
Karl Stefanovic: For more, we're joined by Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, live in California this morning. Nice to see you, Don, with both hats on this morning. Look, have you spoken to anyone in the Trump administration, any clarity on those tariff increases?
Minister for Trade and Tourist, Don Farrell: Look, we've been talking to my counterpart overnight and it does seem pretty clear now that the tariff on Australian goods has remained at 10%. So, we saw over the weekend that the figure was supposed to be 15%. That was certainly the figure that President Trump announced over the weekend. But in discussions with my counterpart's office, they have confirmed that the figure remains at 10%.
And that's an interesting figure because we've just got the figures on trade from last year. Our trade is up by 67% to a record of $133 billion. So, despite the tariffs and everything else that's happening around the world, Australia continues to boost its trade. The figures for all of Australia last year were again, another record, $1.3 trillion. So, the cool, the calm, the stability of the Albanese government is delivering terrific trade results for Australia.
Sarah Abo: Well, I guess that's relative to the tariffs on other nations, right? We did escape that with the 10%. What was behind that? Why did it come down from 15%?
Minister Farrell: Look, you'd have to ask President Trump that question. But the order that President Trump signed after the decision of the United States Supreme Court did say 10%. And that is, in fact, the figure that the Americans are now using, despite the comments of President Trump. Now, that's not to say that's where it's going to stay. But my objective while I'm over here and in the weeks ahead - I've got a number of meetings lined up with my counterpart - will be to prosecute the argument for the removal of all of the tariffs on Australian goods. It doesn't make any sense - simply pushes up prices in the United States. So, we want the removal of all of those tariffs. And that's the argument I'm going to be prosecuting with my counterpart.
Karl Stefanovic: Well, there'll be some producers in Australia and exporters who'll be grateful for that. Look, meantime, on the most controversial part of this interview right now, it really is Australia's top 10 beaches for 2026 have been revealed. I think it's the worst list I've ever seen.
Sarah Abo: What is this list, Don? Seriously?
Minister Farrell: Well, I'm standing here at Santa Monica Beach. and I want to announce that Bate Bay from NSW, just south of Sydney, is the winner. It's a terrific beach. I don't agree with you there, Sarah, or Karl. One of my favourite beaches on the list is Smoky Bay, just a little bit east of Ceduna. If you like oysters, it's really the place to go. But look, there's a terrific list of beaches right across the country.
Brad Farmer, our Tourism Australia Beach Ambassador does a terrific job. He makes a decision out of the 12,000 wonderful beaches. One of the things I'm going to be doing here in Los Angeles over the next couple of days is promoting all of these wonderful beaches to increase tourism from the United States. It's back to where it was pre-COVID. Almost 800,000 Americans came to Australia last year. We want that figure to increase this year. And by promoting all these wonderful beaches, we want more to come.
Karl Stefanovic: No, look, I'm just upset the whole list isn't Queensland, as you know, Don. But there are spectacular beaches. Let the audience start debating the list.
Sarah Abo: Let us know what you think.
Karl Stefanovic: And I think that you've been behind some of those beaches too, Don. You know, infiltration of your own ideas and bias.
Sarah Abo: Corruption. I'm calling corruption.
Karl Stefanovic: Thank you, Don. Safe travels. Best of luck with the tariffs.