According to a report by Agence France-Presse on April 16, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised in a televised debate before the federal election not to yield to US President Donald Trump and to defend Australia's interests in the trade dispute with the United States. Australia is scheduled to hold a federal election on May 3 this year.

Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Australia, a close ally, which became an important issue in the contest between the 62-year-old Albanese and his conservative challenger, former police officer Peter Dutton.

When asked whether he trusted the US president, Albanese said that he had "no reason not to trust", even though Trump had promised to "fully consider" Canberra's free trade claims before deciding to impose the tariff.

Regarding the US tariff increase, Anthony Albanese, the leader of the center-left Labor Party, said: "We have clearly stated that this is a self-destructive act."

He said: "We will defend Australia's national interests because it is important."

In recent polls, Albanese's Labor Party led by a narrow margin. Experts pointed out that his criticism of US tariffs received public support, as he condemned the US tariff increase as "not the behavior of a friend".

The poll shows that Australians' trust in the United States has dropped to a new low.

A recent poll conducted by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, showed that only 36% of Australians believed that the United States could act responsibly in the world, which was the lowest level of trust in the United States among respondents since the institution began conducting this poll 20 years ago.

The Lowy Institute conducted a relevant public opinion survey of 2,117 adults across Australia from March 3 to 16, 2025, and the full results will be released in June.

The above poll showed that nearly two-thirds of the surveyed Australian citizens said they were "somewhat" or "completely" untrustworthy of the US acting responsibly. Among them, the proportion of those who responded "completely untrustworthy" increased significantly, rising from 16% in 2024 to 32% this year.

The poll also showed that 81% of respondents disapproved of the Trump administration's use of tariffs to pressure other countries. In addition, about three-quarters of respondents disapproved of the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization and international climate change-related agreements.

Original title: "Australian Prime Minister's Statement: Will Not Yield to Trump"

Column editor: Zhou Chunsheng; Text editor: Shen Jialing; Main picture source: Xinhua News Agency; Picture editor: Su Wei

Source: Author: The Reference News, Xinhua News Agency

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494185167843361291/

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