Todd McClay Warns of Tougher Global Trade Environment for NZ
The stark realities of the world trade that New Zealand is having to face have been revealed by Trade Minister Todd McClay.
Our dependence on the US and China with the rapid changes in the world order is fast becoming a liability.
Australia has already discovered what this means in practice.
In October, Canberra signed an $8.5 billion minerals deal and the mining industry celebrated.
The agreement included American guarantees of minimum prices, so that if China flooded the market with cheap supply, Australian mines would still be worth the investment.
In the first week of Feb, those guarantees were quietly withdrawn.
Australia played by the rules, signed a big deal and trusted that the relationship would hold.
It now carries the risk on its own.
