New Zealand welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement that he would remove additional tariffs on a range of New Zealand agricultural products, while saying it would also like to see additional United States tariffs on its goods removed.
Trump announced tariff exemptions on many agricultural goods, including New Zealand beef and kiwi fruit.
These products, alongside other agricultural goods, account for 25% of New Zealand’s exports to the U.S. and are worth around NZ$2.21 billion a year, according to New Zealand’s trade minister, Todd McClay.
“The U.S. remains an important trade partner for New Zealand and the decision to lift these tariffs is a step in the right direction and will be welcomed by exporters who have faced months of uncertainty and higher costs,” McClay said.
McClay said while beef exports to the U.S. have decreased, he expects them to bounce back to the volume before the tariffs were introduced.
Meat Industry Association chief executive, Nathan Guy, said it seemed beef would revert to the 1% tariff, but that lamb was still subject to the 15% tariff.
"We've always thought these tariffs could indeed be inflationary for U.S. consumers," he said.
"This is a very important market for us, indeed it is our number one, despite the 15% tariffs, because the demand has been so strong in the U.S."
Guy also said the change would level the field with competitors like Australia.
While McClay said this is a positive step forward, he said he wanted to see more products stripped of taxes.
"I and the prime minister have consistently made the case that we don't think it's justified, that our trade is complementary and well-balanced,” he said
“But in the case of the change, particularly for kiwifruit worth about NZ$250 million a year and meat or beef exports about NZ$2 billion a year for New Zealand, this is welcome news and we would hope there could be more over time.”
