Donald Trump has shown no sign of appointing an ambassador to Canberra despite doing so for more than 50 other countries, fuelling accusations that Australia is a low diplomatic priority as the US president weighs decisions on tariff rates and the future of the AUKUS defence pact.
The federal opposition has intensified its criticism of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not securing a meeting with Trump this week after the president said he planned to increase his baseline tariff rate from 10 per cent to as much as 20 per cent.
US President Donald Trump.Credit: Bloomberg
The Trump administration has announced ambassadorial nominees for at least 52 countries, including Malta, Tunisia, the Bahamas, Latvia, Namibia and New Zealand.
The US Senate has approved Trump’s nominees for ambassadors to China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, France, Israel, Britain, Ireland, Turkey and Panama, allowing those diplomats to take up their posts at embassies in their host countries.
Read more from foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott here.
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