Australian officials raised concerns to a bipartisan group of lawmakers about the Pentagon’s review of the trilateral pact with the US and UK known as AUKUS, a senator present told Semafor.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who was part of a delegation visiting the country, said Australian officials hope that the AUKUS review “will come to an end soon and that we’ll reaffirm this deep and strategic partnership.”
He also described the Australians as “puzzled” by the universal 10% tariff Trump imposed earlier this year, given that the US has an existing free trade agreement with Canberra.
The Trump administration revealed earlier this year that it would review AUKUS, a Biden-era security pact worth billions that will deliver US nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
The Pentagon plans to complete the review in the fall, Reuters reported earlier this year.
“It will be an empirical and clear-eyed assessment of the initiative’s alignment with President Trump’s America First approach. The purpose of the review will be to provide the President and his senior leadership team with a fact-based, rigorous assessment of the initiative,” a Pentagon official told Semafor.
The official noted that the administration would “continue regular engagements on this important matter” with Australian and UK officials, Congress, and other key stakeholders during the review period.
The Australian embassy in Washington declined to comment.