Australian PM pledges to stand up for national interests against Trump on trade

CANBERRA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that he would stand up for national interests in response to U.S. tariffs during the second leaders' debate of the election campaign.

Albanese, leader of the governing Labor Party, and opposition Coalition leader Peter Dutton on Wednesday night went head-to-head for the second time on the campaign for the May 3 election in a debate that mostly focused on domestic affairs.

The candidates were asked about how they would negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump over a 10 percent tariff placed on imports from Australia.

Albanese said that the government has "put forward a proposition" to the United States but would not "budge" on pharmaceutical, biosecurity or media laws that have been identified by the Trump administration as trade grievances.

"We will stand up for Australia's national interests," he said.

He said that Australia has made it "very clear" that the tariffs were an act of "self-harm by the United States."