Trump's tariffs
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports into the US is doing good things for global trade, according to Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay.
OPINION: Former politicians seem incapable of staying away from the limelight after they retire.
Richard ‘Mad Dog’ Prebble opines weekly in the media, Helen Clark has an opinion on everything, and not a week goes by without Sir John Key making the headlines.
Last week his reckons included the view Trump will, and ‘should’, win the 2024 US election circus. Key said Trump’s “better for the economy”, but he also raised the ‘T’ word – tariffs.
Exporters are rightly wary of the implications for trade into the US if the Orange One wins and whacks hefty tariffs on imports.
The NZ wine industry, for example, fear they could face 20% tariffs, which would kill returns from their biggest export market.
The US circus is beyond our control, but we can’t pretend the result won’t impact us.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
Fonterra has slashed another 50c off its milk price forecast as global milk flows shows no sign of easing.
Meat processors are hopeful that the additional 15% tariff on lamb exports to the US will also come off.
Fears of a serious early drought in Hawke’s Bay have been allayed – for the moment at least.

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