Agriculture, Trade and Investment Minister, Todd McClay, has met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, in Washington to express New Zealand’s concerns over US tariffs.
In a statement, Mr McClay said Ambassador Greer recognised that New Zealand applies low tariffs against US goods. He confirmed that the additional 5% tariff imposed on New Zealand exports last month was in relation to New Zealand’s balance of trade surplus and represented a new bottom tariff rate of 15%, or higher, for all countries that sold more to the US than they bought.
Product-specific trade investigations in areas including steel and aluminium, pharmaceuticals, and timber were also discussed.
Ambassador Greer and Minister McClay agreed that trade officials would meet over the coming months to discuss the impact of tariffs on New Zealand-US trade and consider practical ways to give exporters greater certainty.
The pair agreed to next meet during the ASEAN Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Malaysia in September and again at the APEC Leaders’ Summit in Korea in October where they would consider any next steps to strengthen trade.
Minister McClay, Secretary of Agriculture Rollins and Ambassador Greer discussed shared concerns about the harm that heavily subsidised, trade-distorting practices of some countries are causing to the New Zealand and US dairy industries.
They agreed that dairy farmers were important to both governments and that they shared significant concerns over the effect these trade-distorting practices have on our respective dairy industries.
They agreed to explore ways to jointly combat these harmful practices and support New Zealand dairy farmers, Mr McClay said.
