The prime minister has blamed an "ideological disagreement" for the latest round of American tariffs proposed for countries including Australia over what the US says is their failure to address modern slavery.
The White House is proposing new levies for 60 countries that it says are not doing enough to fight slavery in their supply chains.
Under the proposal, a 10 per cent temporary tariff imposed in February on Australian goods would increase to 12.5 per cent from July 24.
"The acts, policies and practices of Australia related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a forced-labour import prohibition are unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer found in a report published overnight.
The tariffs are unwarranted and will only push up prices for consumers in the US, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday.
