Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will be on the fifth day of their cross-country election blitz when Mr Trump unveils sweeping tariffs that, he warns, will affect "all countries".
The two party leaders have tried to keep the campaigns focused on domestic issues like health and government services, but the wide-ranging consequences, unpredictability and ferocity of Mr Trump's second-term decisions have made voters increasingly concerned about the impact on Australia and raised questions over which leader would be better placed to handle the volatile president.
Australia has already been slugged with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium, Mr Albanese said but negotiations were ongoing.
A report released by Mr Trump's office on "Liberation Day" eve showed the US was keeping an eye on trade barriers imposed on American goods - like beef, pork, chicken, apples and pears - that are aimed at preventing pests and viruses from arriving in Australia.
The document also pointed to issues over Australia's treatment of pharmaceutical patents and its news bargaining code, which requires tech platforms to pay media organisations for their content.
But Mr Albanese insists biosecurity, the pharmaceutical subsidy scheme and the media code are not up for negotiation.
"I want to see a constructive outcome but what I won't do is undermine our national interest," he told reporters in Adelaide.
Though no country has scored a carve-out from US tariffs, Mr Dutton has continued to say he would be best placed to deal with Mr Trump.
"(The prime minister) has not been able to stand up against people who are trying to do a deal that is not in our country's best interest," he told reporters in Melbourne.
While Mr Dutton is rumoured to be heading west on Wednesday, the prime minister will take on the Greens in Victorian battlegrounds.
The minor party is hoping to fend off Labor by bringing the environment back to the limelight after the government used the last parliamentary sitting week to weaken environment protection laws and protect Tasmanian salmon farming jobs.
The Greens' plan, which would ensure one per cent of the federal budget goes to protecting the natural environment to prevent further extinctions, will also be a key bargaining chip if the May 3 poll ends in a hung parliament.
11°C