Large US tariffs on China may have an “adverse effect” on Australia, though the Aussie dollar has so far shown limited reaction on a trade-weighted basis to Donald Trump’s election victory, a senior Reserve Bank official said Thursday.

Australia would be a casualty in a US-China trade war if a re-elected Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Beijing, the Treasury chief warns. Mr Trump has said he would impose a 60-100 per cent levy on Chinese imports if he won the presidency. He said he would also slap a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all foreign imports.

China's steel industry, already struggling with overcapacity and weak domestic demand, faces an indirect hit if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pursues 60% tariffs on Chinese goods such as manufactured items made from the alloy.