Waffle man
OPINION: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sometimes can't escape his own corporate instinct for evasion, and in what should have been a soft interview with ZB's Mike Hosking, Luxon unnecessarily "made a meal of it", to paraphrase Hosking.
Speaking at the US Business Summit in Auckland yesterday, Luxon has positive words for both outgoing President Joe Biden and incoming President Donald Trump.
“I have the greatest of respect for the Biden Administration’s achievements. At APEC, I thanked the outgoing President for his 50 years of public service and leadership, and for the contribution he made to the relationship with New Zealand,” he says.
“I was also delighted to speak to President-elect Trump ten days ago, now. What came through loud and clear in that call was his fondness for New Zealand. We spoke about world affairs, but we also discussed the need to build on the very deep foundations of our relationship.
“Whoever is in office, whether Democrat or Republican, my Government’s job is to pursue New Zealand’s interests, to fully harness what our two countries offer one other, and ensure the relationship is at its best.”
Luxon laid out “three inter-connected lines of effort” that his Government will follow with the US - growing both countries’ prosperity, strengthening security and deepening relationship.
The US recently eclipsed Australia to become NZ’s second-largest export market.
Luxon points out that it’s growing exceptionally well.
“Two-way trade is 36% higher this year than before the pandemic, with a trend towards value over volume. We offer American exporters open access to our market, with the main driver of growth in our exports being the strength and relative openness of their economy.”
He says the primary sector remains a mainstay, with nearly $6 billion of safe, sustainable and premium agricultural products sold – exports that often compliment US agriculture producers.
“My Government will continue to work with colleagues in Washington DC to sustain that trade and, where possible, to increase it, by tackling the non-tariff barriers that snarl up exporters’ trade.”
With the Trump Administration coming to power, NZ will be investing in building connections.
“Indeed, that is a focus right now,” says Luxon.
“In addition to talking with the President-elect last week, I used my July visit to build connections with influential Republicans on the Hill and elsewhere in Washington DC. Winston Peters (Foreign Affair Minister) has been doing the same and, as the new Administration unfolds, other ministers will be connecting with their new counterparts, too.
“I know from my personal experience just how important those relationships are. They enable us to find new areas of opportunity and they also create the bandwidth to deal with areas of disagreement.
“There will always be areas of difference between Wellington and Washington DC – whoever occupies the White House. Just as we have things on which we do not see eye to eye with Australia, that is true with the US, too. But these differences are dwarfed by our common interests, and so the relationships we build will enable us to manage those differences sensibly.”
