Welding body calls for a nation‍-‍building approach to combat Trump's tariffs

Weld Australia has issued a response to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariff regime, which has imposed exorbitant duties on a wide range of global imports. The organisation believes that Australia has a unique opportunity to carve out a new path: one based on sovereign manufacturing capability, rather than isolationist policies.

Weld Australia represents the welding profession in Australia. Its members are made up of individual welding professionals and companies of all sizes.

“Trump is right about one thing: America gave away its manufacturing capability, and now it’s paying the price,” said Geoff Crittenden, CEO of Weld Australia. “But Australia hasn’t — yet. We still make steel. We still have a fabrication industry. And we have enormous, growing demand for everything from renewable energy infrastructure to roads, gas plants, and submarines. The solution to this crisis isn’t more tariffs. It’s simple: let’s build our own infrastructure ourselves.”

Trump’s chaotic tariff regime is set to create untold misery and uncertainty, particularly for developing nations already grappling with poverty. These sweeping changes could destabilise global trade, disrupt supply chains and spark inflation worldwide.

“This isn’t just a bad day for trade — it’s a disaster for global equity,” Crittenden said. “Poor nations like Lesotho, who have no electricity or running water, and Madagascar, where three-quarters of the population lives in poverty, are now being hit with sky-high tariffs simply for trying to participate in the global economy. It’s punitive and unjust.”

A made-in-Australia solution to a global problem

Rather than following the US into a trade war spiral, Weld Australia urges the Australian Government to take a proactive, nation-building approach.

“We don’t need tariffs — we just need to choose Australian steel and Australian fabrication,” Crittenden said. “Australia has the demand. We have the choice. So, let’s make the right one. We can either hand our infrastructure pipeline over to overseas suppliers, or we can rebuild our sovereign capability and create wealth and jobs right here at home.”

From wind towers and bridges to critical minerals processing and naval shipbuilding, the opportunities for Australian-made infrastructure are enormous, according to Weld Australia. Australian manufacturers are already being invited into the US to fill gaps in capability — gaps that we still possess.

“If the Americans are turning to us to help them rebuild, then why aren’t we backing ourselves?” Crittenden said.

Image credit: iStock.com/Alfio Manciagli