Usual rules "don't apply" in talks with Trump administration: Australian FM

CANBERRA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday that usual rules "don't apply" when dealing with the current U.S. government amid ongoing talks on tariffs.

Wong said that she "made the point" to people following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election that the "usual rules don't apply" and that a different approach to diplomacy is required.

She told Nine Network television that the Trump administration has a very different view about the role the United States plays in the world and that the Australian government would make decisions that advance the national interests.

"We are a sovereign nation, and we make decisions about what advances our interests," she said.

Wong confirmed that Australian and U.S. officials are engaging in talks over tariffs imposed by Washington in April.

"Tariffs don't benefit anybody. They are harmful to working people around the world because of their effect on the global economy," she said.

In a separate interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation television on Wednesday, Wong said that the second term federal government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would continue the first term work of developing trading relationships with other countries.

Albanese's re-elected Labor Party government has reopened stalled negotiations with the European Union on a free trade agreement.