Editorial: We are Trumped

Just like small fish, we have got caught up in the tidal rush to make America great, by making everyone else pay more at the high altar of the US president.

It seems it matters not that in the past, from time to time, the US enjoyed trade surpluses over us. It seems that friend and foe have been treated the same in the great chaotic tariff lottery.

The money that the US will collect by way of tariffs from NZ is minuscule, akin to a pimple on an elephant’s hide in terms of its impact on their economy. Yet to us, this across-the-board approach without any serious consultation could have significant impacts on our people and our economy – hardly a sign of friendship.

The trouble is, as trade experts Tim Grosser and Mike Petersen have noted, the 15% may just be the beginning. Will the US farm lobby pressure Trump to take more actions against our exports, will there be more tariffs, will future US administrations repeal these tariffs and will there ever be an opportunity to get the US to backtrack on what they have done?

In the last few months, things have been looking up for our agri-sector. Dairy and horticulture had great years with the latter recovering well from successive adverse weather events and there has been positive news for sheep and beef farmers. There were still fears about the impacts of wars in the Middle East and of course Ukraine, but suddenly we have been hit with another curve ball which is beyond our control.

However, the world needs food and no one is better placed than NZ to supply safe and quality products. One would hope there’s not much impact on our export receipts.

And we also hope that, once again, our politicians, trade officials and exporters will bat for us and navigate us through yet another crisis.

 Read More:

• Mike Petersen: NZ must stay nimble amid trade turmoil
• Trade experts warn of US tariff risks to NZ exports
• NZ red meat sector hits out at US tariff hike