Ask the Squiz: Free trade, toxic algae and flying pets

Ask the Squiz: Free trade, toxic algae, and flying pets

It’s the first Thursday of the month, which means it’s our chance to dig into a couple of stories you’ve told us you’d like a bit more detail on. Squizers have such great questions and we can’t necessarily get to them all with our Shortcuts, so this is a good opportunity to knock off a few at a time. As always, we’ve got a great cross-section of topics, including:

• how the US tariffs and the free trade deal interact,

• South Australia’s toxic algal bloom,

• and what the deal is with pets on planes…

Prefer this in your ears?

Listen to our podcast 🎧

Listen time: 19 minutes

Free trade and tariffs…

Our first question is from Claire, who asked: “How do Trump’s tariffs and the free trade agreement interact? Do the tariffs break the agreement?”
This is a great question - and there’s a short answer… US President Donald Trump established these tariffs using his national security and emergency powers, which means it overrules any free trade agreements in place. 

Can you unpack that a bit…?
For sure… Let's start with the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement. It was signed back in 2004 under John Howard and came into effect in 2005. George W Bush was the US President at the time, and he had a close relationship with our PM John Howard. The Americans particularly appreciated Australia’s support in the war against terror following the 9/11 attacks. So the free trade deal was a notable one… It meant more than 97% of our non-agricultural exports to the US became duty-free immediately, which was unpopular with American farmers...

What impact has it had?
It's been in place for 20 years now, and two-way trade has more than doubled since then. But free trade agreements aren't bulletproof. Fast forward to Trump and tariffs - this isn't his first go... 

When was the first time?
During his first presidency, he put 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminium using something called Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. That allows the President to impose tariffs if imports threaten national security.

How does that work?
National security tariffs are exempt from trade agreements. They can't even be challenged at the World Trade Organisation. Back then, Malcolm Turnbull got us an exemption - not because of AUSFTA, but because of our military alliance and the fact that the US actually sells more to us than they buy from us. But this time around? No such luck. 

And remind me what he’s put in place this time?
When Trump came back in January 2025, he went much bigger. On April 2nd - he called it "Liberation Day" - he declared a national economic emergency and said he would use his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. With that emergency declaration, he imposed a baseline 10% tariff on ALL imports into the US, including from Australia. 

How have other countries fared?
He’s whacked higher "reciprocal tariffs" on countries he said were treating the US unfairly - China got 34%, Japan 24%, and South Korea 25%. And he didn't stop there. He reimposed 25% tariffs on steel in February, then raised both steel and aluminium to 50% in June. And there are no exemptions for anyone - not even close allies like us.

So, back to the free trade agreement…
To answer the question - yes, the tariffs do seem to break the spirit of the free trade agreement. But legally, they don't violate it because of these national security and emergency provisions. It's like having a contract with an "unless there's an emergency" clause, and Trump has declared that emergency.

What has our reaction been?
The Albanese government has decided not to retaliate with our own tariffs - they've said trade wars are "a race to the bottom". And we should say that many analysts don’t think the direct impact is huge for Australia, but the indirect effects could be bigger. 

What could the indirect effects be?
The high tariffs on our Asian trading partners - those countries that buy our iron ore and commodities - could slow their economies and reduce demand for our exports. It’s a situation that’s evolving, and it’s massive for the global economy, so it’s one we’ll be talking about for a while yet.

South Australia’s algal bloom…

Our next question is about the algal bloom in South Australia - it’s an ecological disaster that’s affecting the state’s marine and tourism industries. Sandra asks: “Can you explain what it is?”
We’ll have a go… So let’s start with what the word means first of all. A bloom is made up of a huge amount of microscopic algae. They’re tiny - you couldn’t see one of them without a microscope - but when they bloom in huge numbers, they can turn normally blue/green water into a brown sort of foam. This particular type of algae is called karenia mikimotoi.

How did we find out about it?
It was surfers that first raised the alarm about the bloom spreading in South Australia when they started feeling sick after surfing in the Fleurieu Peninsula. That was in mid-March, and it’s been growing ever since.

Is it toxic for humans?
Not so much… It can cause flu-like symptoms and rashes, but the government says those symptoms should go away after a couple of hours.

Why is it such a problem?
It’s a huge issue because of the effect it’s having on marine life. These algae can damage the gills of fish and essentially drown them in the ocean. Fish, dolphins to sea lions have been washing up dead on South Australian beaches.

That’s awful…
It’s not only sad, it’s a problem at a basic ecological level, and it’s also having a real impact on the fishing and tourism industries in South Australia. There was a story in The Australian recently (paywall) about a Cape Jervis fisherman, Gary Lloyd - who after dealing with this algal bloom for months, has had to basically turn to harvesting kangaroos and rabbits instead because he’s not catching any fish.

What other industries are affected?
There have been stories of oyster harvesting regions being shut down, and lots of businesses who depend on the ocean for their profession are having to either work around it or do something else. 

What’s causing it?
Scientists in South Australia are pointing to a marine heatwave - temperatures in the ocean have been about 2.5 degrees hotter than normal since September last year. And when you combine that with nutrient-rich water, it means that the algae have more nutrients to feed on and better conditions to do it, so that means they increase in number and the bloom spreads in size. 

So, when is it likely to go away?
No-one can answer that for sure. Algal bloom usually naturally goes away after a few months, but this one’s been floating around for nearly 5 months now - and some reports say it might not really be going anywhere. In a piece in The Conversation, oceanographer Jochen Kaempf says that it might be a case of conditions improving for a little while, but then worsening again over summer. 

What is the South Oz Government saying?
Premier Peter Malinauskas has called it a natural disaster - the federal government hasn’t gone that far yet but it’s committed $28 million of funding to go towards fixing it. It’s far from fixed yet, but we’ll make sure to keep an eye on it, and as big updates come along - we’ll cover those in Squiz Today.

High-flying pets…

Last week Virgin Australia announced it will allow pets in the cabin on flights by the end of the year - Simon and Werner asked: “How exactly is that going to work?”
To put you at ease right away - you’re not going to get to your seat and find out you’re going to be sitting next to a Great Dane… 

Talk about fighting for the elbow rest…
Quite… First of all we have to differentiate between service animals and pets. So service animals are allowed on flights but this new rule on Virgin is specifically for pets. And to be clear, it’s only available for small pets…

What’s the size limit?
Your pet will have to be less than 8kg - and that includes the carrier they have to ride in. That means Claire’s French Bulldog Tucker wouldn’t even make the cut (he does like the odd square of cheese though - no judgement). And Andrew’s 26kg sheepadoodle Fiadh has no chance whatsoever. As an aside, if you’d like to check out the Squiz doggos, here they are… 

How will it work for people with allergies?
If you’re allergic to cat hair or dog hair, there’s good news on that front too… First of all, it’s only certain domestic routes where pets will be allowed to travel. Second of all, they’ll only be allowed in special designated rows - so you’ll know if you’re seated in a pet-friendly row in advance. And as we said, they can’t just go free-range - they have to be in a carrier. 

Is it for all pets or just cats and dogs?
It’s only going to be for small cats and dogs, so if you’ve got a particularly exotic kind of pet, you won’t be allowed to bring that on a plane with you - so no ducks yet, sorry Daniel Turducken Stinkerbutt… So those are the rules as it stands, and Virgin is still yet to announce exactly how this is all going to work. But it will be the first major carrier to do this - and it had to jump through quite a few hoops to get there. 

What sort of hoops?
Well, as we mentioned on the Squiz Today podcast, Virgin had to get approval from the Food Standards Authority - because an airplane is technically a restaurant under aviation regulations in Australia. But once they got the tick, they publicly announced that they’re hoping to lock this in as a possibility by Christmas.

How soon will this all be happening?
If you fit the criteria, your pet could be flying with you by Christmas. But having said that, even the official Virgin Australia website is still a little scant with details. For example, toilet issues are still a bit unclear - that’s a very early question we had. And it’s worth noting as well that while this is new for Australia, it’s not a new thing in general…

What other airlines allow it?
We had a look and found that it’s really common in Europe, for example - plenty of airlines allow animals in the cabin under these same rules, so we’re just catching up. And there’s also the question of whether any other Aussie airlines will follow suit… 

And…?
Qantas has given pets in cabins the thumbs down for now. But if you’re nervous about it - and plenty of people do have phobias of pets, even small cats and dogs - maybe just double-check whether your flight is a pet-friendly one if you’re planning to fly with Virgin. It will be interesting to see how it works. 

Whether it’s a bit ruff?
Or whether it’s purrfect.

Let your smile shine

Smiling is one of our favourite things to do, but it helps when your teeth are at their best. The Smilie Teeth Whitening Kit offers visible results from the first treatment without the hefty price tag, delivered straight to your door. It'll even lift long-lasting stains without causing your toothy-pegs pain. Find out more here.

Recommendations:

Reading: This article in The Conversation is a good explanation of the science behind South Australia’s algal bloom

Reading: And this story is about Daniel the well-travelled duck

Email us: Keep your questions coming… We’ll be back with another Ask the Squiz in the first week of September - so if you’ve got a question you’d like answered about the news, send it through to [email protected] and we’ll answer it then. Stay tuned…

Recent Shortcuts