President says US has no better friend than Australia but tells ambassador Kevin Rudd “I don’t like you’

• ‘I don’t like you either’: diplomats hold their breath as Trump chides Rudd over previous comments

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Donald Trump has strongly endorsed the Aukus pact and praised prime minister Anthony Albanese as a “great” leader, but the president’s navy secretary says the US may seek to “clarify some ambiguities” in the nuclear submarine deal.

Trump and Albanese also signed a multibillion-dollar agreement for Australia to supply the United States with critical minerals, amid a deepening trade war as China threatens to cut its supply of rare earth elements. But the president also downplayed any prospect of cutting tariffs on Australian goods.

Source: Guardian - World News