Trade experts warn of US tariff risks to NZ exports
Two leading New Zealand trade experts warn that the 15% tariff slapped by the US shouldn't be taken lightly.
IT IS great to see Trade Minister Tim Groser and DCANZ executive director Kimberly Crewther taking a positive stance on the news that Australia and China have signed a free trade agreement.
It would have been tempting to cry foul and to take on the Australians, some of whom are openly gloating – or are they merely happy – about what they see as a good deal. Let’s be frank, New Zealand would probably have put the same spin on such news.
Groser and Crewther are experienced in the global minefield of trade negotiations and have an excellent handle on what this latest FTA will achieve.
As Crewther points out, a key message is that China is continuing down the road of trade liberalisation and that is good news. China and Australia should be congratulated, not castigated, for what they are doing. This FTA will hopefully give greater world-wide impetus to trade liberalisation which will benefit us as a major agricultural exporter.
Even if Australia has made some short term gain by this deal, it should not be seen as problem, rather an anomaly which gives Groser the perfect excuse for quietly persuading the Chinese to give a little more to New Zealand by way of tariff reductions.
Groser points out that a strong Australian economy works in New Zealand’s favour; after all they are a major trading partner and the last thing we need is a flat Australian economy.
This FTA will put spring into the step of the Australian economy, especially its ailing dairy industry. As the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. With our mates across the water, we simply need to keep rowing.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…