This resource tracked statements, developments, visits, and other interactions in US-Indo-Pacific relations under the President Trump administration. Special focus was given to the comments and activities of President Donald J. Trump; Vice President Mike Pence; United States Trade Representative Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Jr.; former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; former Secretary of Defense James Mattis; and former Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper.
The Trump Administration & US - Indo-Pacific Relations
All Posts
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Remarks by Secretary Pompeo on the US-Australia Relationship
"Since Secretary of State George Shultz and Admiral William Crowe traveled to Canberra for the first AUSMIN in 1985, our two nations have grown much closer, and I expect that will continue. We’re proud to call Australia one of our best friends and strongest allies. They’re truly that all across the world, and we will continue to work closely together on a range of key bilateral and global issues. [...] We coordinated closely on aligning our strategic priorities in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. We also…
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Secretary Mattis's Remarks on the US-Australia Relationship
"In these past 12 months, we have strengthened our defense cooperation in many tangible ways, finalizing our respective national security and defense strategies to address shared threats and increasing our coordination of joint capabilities development. We’ve enhanced our interoperability and our cooperation in the region through Exercise RIMPAC and numerous other exercises, and that’s continuing our 100-year tradition of teamwork, or mateship as our friends from Down Under call it. Minister Payne and I signed a cyber memorandum of understanding to enable our countries to…
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Secretary Mattis's Remarks on Australia, China, and the South China Sea
"Well, we’re totally aligned, Australia and the United States, with what we want as an end state in the Pacific, and that is of course the free and the open Indo-Pacific, where nations large and small are treated with respect for their territorial integrity, for their sovereignty, their sovereign decisions. And I think that as we look at the South China Sea, our concern is that features that have never been militarized before have been militarized by the PRC. We’ve been very – over several…
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USTR Announces FY 2019 WTO Tariff-Rate Quota Allocations for Raw Cane Sugar
"The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today announced the country-specific in-quota allocations under the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on imported raw cane sugar for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019). TRQs allow countries to export specified quantities of a product to the United States at a relatively low tariff, but subject all imports of the product above a pre-determined threshold to a higher tariff. On June 29, 2018, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the establishment of the in-quota quantity…
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Secretary Mattis' Remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue - Australia and New Zealand
"In Oceana, our alliances and partnerships are based not only on common security interests, but also on deeply shared values and a long history of shared sacrifice. Australia remains one of our strongest allies, and this year we celebrate our first 100 years of (mate-ship). We are also revitalizing our defense partnership with New Zealand, and we've modernized these key alliances and partnerships to ensure that they are as relevant to the security challenges of this century as they were to the last."
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President Trump Approves Section 232 Tariff Modifications
"The tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the following countries are suspended until May 1, 2018, pending discussions of satisfactory long-term alternative means to address the threatened impairment to U.S. national security:
- Argentina;
- Australia;
- Brazil;
- Canada;
- Mexico;
- the member countries of the European Union; and
- South Korea.
By May 1, 2018, the President will decide whether to continue to exempt these countries from the tariffs, based on the status of the discussions. "
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Presidential Message in Commemoration of the 76th Anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea
"On behalf of the United States, First Lady Melania and I join the people of Australia in remembrance and reflection for the 76th Commemoration of the Battle of the Coral Sea. The engagement in the Coral Sea from May 4 to 8, 1942, holds a unique place in the joint history of our two great nations. Seventy-six years ago, Americans and Australians fought side-by-side to hold back a powerful adversary in the Pacific. During that battle, over 600 service members lost their lives for the…
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Presidential Proclamation Adjusting Imports of Steel into the United States
"The United States is continuing discussions with Canada and Mexico, as well as the following countries, on satisfactory alternative means to address the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of steel articles from those countries: the Commonwealth of Australia (Australia), the Argentine Republic (Argentina), the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the Federative Republic of Brazil (Brazil), and the European Union (EU) on behalf of its member countries. Each of these countries has an important security relationship with the United States and I have…
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Presidential Proclamation Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States
"The United States has an important security relationship with Australia, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns, particularly through our security, defense, and intelligence partnership; the strong economic and strategic partnership between our countries; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in aluminum production; and the integration of Australian persons and organizations into the national technology and industrial base of the United States. [...] The United States has an important security relationship with South Korea, including our shared…
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U.S. Department of Commerce Finds Dumping and Subsidization of Imports of Silicon Metal from Australia, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Norway
"Today [March 1, 2018], U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of silicon metal from Australia and Brazil, an AD investigation of silicon metal imports from Norway, and a CVD investigation of silicon metal imports from Kazakhstan. [...] The Commerce Department determined that exporters from Australia, Brazil, and Norway have sold silicon metal in the United States at 41.73 – 51.28 percent, 68.97 – 134.92 percent, and 3.22 percent…