Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the 15 percent trade tariff is "not what he wanted". Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The decision by US President Donald Trump to hit New Zealand exporters with a 15 percent tariff came "blunt and late", the Prime Minster says.
Speaking to Morning Report, Christopher Luxon said the tariff, which had been expected to be at 10 percent, being at a higher percentage was "not what New Zealand wanted".
"We disagree with tariffs," Luxon said, "the president is pretty fixed on his views and unlikely to change."
"The decision came pretty blunt and late."
Despite this, top diplomat Vangelis Vitalis was flying to Washington in the wake of the announcement, with Trade Minister Todd McClay intending to visit in coming days too.
Luxon said prior to the announcement New Zealand had "really constructive" conversations with the US about trade, and the decision had been made close to the announcement.
Despite the higher tariff, Luxon said the government had "played it well".
"We continue to register our disappointment about the decision, we've also done it since April."
He believed New Zealand exporters were "nimble and agile" and there was still huge demand for New Zealand products and services globally.
But the opposition, said the 15 percent tariff was a "slap in the face" for exporters.
Labour's trade spokesperson Damien O'Connor told Morning Report, it was a major fail for the government and noted other leaders managed to cut deals that kept tariffs at lower rates.
"This is a disadvantage relative to our competitors," he said.
"There is a strong demand for our beef in the US, but this will start to squeeze the market."
O'Connor said New Zealand would be competing head-to-head with other countries like Australia, Argentina and Uruguay who all had 10 percent tariffs.
"That's going to be tough... That's going to hurt."
Kate Acland, chairperson of Beef and Lamb New Zealand agreed competing countries having a lower tariff rate would hurt New Zealand.
"I think the key is we're on a different rate to many of our competitors," she told Morning Report, "this is more than $300 million additional hit if it can't be passed on to the consumers."
"It will have an impact, this is quite significant."
Acland said New Zealand was "one of the good guys" who played by the rules when it came to trade, but perhaps the reason for the higher tariff was that it didn't have much to bring to the negotiating table.
"There's quite a queue to negotiate over there, I think the strategy was right, it'd hard to know what we could have done.
Kate Acland, chairperson of Beef and Lamb New Zealand said the US needed New Zealand meat exports. Photo: © Clare Toia-Bailey / www.image-central.co.nz
"Going over there now is the right thing to do."
Acland said there was a global shortage of protein, particularly beef, so the US did need New Zealand meat exports.
"They need that lean beef so we do have a good story to tell there on the beef side.
She believed exporters would be okay, but it did put them at disadvantage.
Felicity Roxburgh, director of the International Business Forum agreed New Zealand was now at a disadvantage.
She told Morning Report, exporters had done a really good job t absorbing the cost so far, but only time would tell what the impact of 15 percent would be.
"We can't invent new markets overnight as an exporter it takes time to invest... There not endless headroom to pass the price to consumers."
She said she welcomed Vitalis heading to Washington to try and press New Zealand's case.
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