The surprise departure of Mr Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council and the most senior economic adviser to the President, was greeted with dismay by Australians hoping to stop the new US trade moves. One described it as a “terrible blow” and another said it was a “very, very ominous sign” that Mr Trump would impose protectionist policies that would damage the US economy and spur experienced advisers like Mr Cohn to leave. The Turnbull government has already mobilised ministers to speak to their US counterparts in the hope they could persuade Mr Trump to give up his plan, which acts on options given to him by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Ms Bishop’s conversation with Mr Tillerson in the US comes after Defence Minister Marise Payne spoke to US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Trade Minister Steve Ciobo spoke to Mr Ross. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

Signs are mounting that Washington is unlikely to grant national exemptions even to close allies. Fairfax Media understands that neither Mr Trump nor US Vice President Mike Pence are taking phone calls from concerned foreign governments about the flagged tariffs. Instead, the conversations have been delegated to Mr Tillerson. The former ExxonMobil chief executive is a mainstream figure in the administration who is thought to oppose the tariffs but could also have little sway in dissuading his boss from pursuing them. It is understood that the view US business has been putting to Ms Bishop and other Australian officials is that any relief from the tariffs is more likely to come in the form of exceptions for specific businesses rather than country-wide exemptions. Australian officials including Ms Bishop have been speaking with US business leaders who remain uncertain about the details of the policy and how it will work. Mr Pence’s lack of accessibility is regarded as a mystery by Australian officials - and could be seen as cause for pessimism given he has often played the role of a conduit to the Oval Office.

Ms Bishop is in New York for the signing of a maritime treaty with East Timor at the United Nations and is expected to speak by phone with Mr Tillerson on Wednesday. Mr Turnbull spoke to Mr Abe over the phone on Tuesday. Mr Abe spoke separately with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Japanese sources confirmed to the Japanese media that the steel tariffs were discussed, as well as the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement between Australia, Japan and nine other countries. Mr Turnbull mentioned briefly on Wednesday that he had spoken to Mr Abe but emphasised the joint work on the TPP rather than the discussion of steel tariffs. “Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and I ensured the door remained open for the US and indeed other countries to join [the TPP] in the future. I was discussing this with PM Abe only yesterday,” Mr Turnbull said at a business summit in Sydney.

“You recall how he came down to Sydney not long after the change of administration in the US. We had our discussions about the TPP and we decided then that we were going to keep the momentum going. It’s a great credit to him and his leadership and all the other countries in the TPP-11, that we’ve been able to do so. “Our future lies in open markets and in a rules-based trading system that allows countries to compete on a level playing field.”