Treasurer issues grim message on economy if trade war takes hold

News Snapshot:

The treasurer has downplayed any substantial improvement in next week's budget bottom line, warning a global trade war would put a multi-billion-dollar dent in Australia's economy by 2030. In a speech on Tuesday, ahead of next week's federal budget, Jim Chalmers flagged that Treasury does not expect the bottom line to "change very substantially" from the December mid-year budget update, which forecast a $33 billion deficit for 2024-25. The direct hit to gross domestic product of steel and aluminium tariffs imposed on Australia by United States President Donald Trump last week would be "manageable", Treasury said, estimating the tariffs would...