Executive Director of the NZ Initiative Oliver Hartwich told Newstalk ZB that the best way to avoid being tariffed by President Trump is to adopt the following strategy: "We can't risk angering the Americans". He makes a strong point. Good on him. So what did former NZ Initiative Senior Economist Matt Burgess, who is now Prime Minister Luxon's Chief Economic Adviser have to say about Donald Trump a few years ago?
"If anyone is willing to do Biblical-level harms to the country to protect himself, it is probably Donald Trump". Burgess wrote this line when Trump had lost office to Biden in 2021, probably thinking he would never be President again. Meanwhile Hartwich followed up a few weeks ago with an article headed, "Its Trump’s defenders, not detractors, who have ‘Derangement Syndrome’". Wow. So Trump has been doing "Biblical level harms" to the United States of America? All to protect himself? With lines like those ones, I'm surprised Trump's not tariffing Kiwi exports 50%.
Can New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon please confirm whether he agrees with his Chief Adviser?
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
Looking at Trump's statistics on tarrifs levied against US products, they are clearly generated by AI, as many of the economists are saying. According to the White House, NZ imposes tarrifs of 20% on US products. If this is the level of research that Trump and his sheep like followers base their economic and international policies on, the America is in trouble.
There are many people Chris Luxon and co don't want to upset. Ben Doyle, Chloe Schwarbrick, The chap who threw tomato sauce over Kelli-Jay, The Maori Party, Chris Finlayson..... the list goes on. They don't mind upsetting Donald Trump or their own supporters who have far more influence in their lives. How bizarre! A diplomatic trip by a few high powered officials to Washington would be a good move. Chris Luxon doesn't represent me, and I was a one time National supporter.
So, a Kiwi, who happens to be an advisor to the Prime Minister, gives his personal opinion on Donald Trump, which is critical. So what? Hundreds of millions think the same way, (and the number is growing by the day). He’s just exercising his right of free speech. Why should the P M pubically dissociate himself? Any suggestion that by not doing so could jeopadise this country’s interests tell us something about the spirit and tactics of the man in the White House.
Time is a great healer and my guess is that when the dust settles and the headless chooks stop making precipitate predictions, the world will realise that this is just part of Trump’s negotiating tactics.
It is all designed to get the rest of the world to acknowledge they have been freeloading on the backs of the Americans for far too long.
His intention was always to bring his competitors (including NZ and Australia) to the negotiating table where an agreement can be thrashed out based on fair trading.
Wise heads are already saying this is the right course of action. I agree.
It is more than likely that the countries with most to loose will end up agreeing to a much reduced tariff on the goods they sell to the US - in NZ and Australia’s case, the 10% tariff will probably be repealed in its entirety.
This is all part of the master plan and so far, from the comments of those begging for negotiations, it looks as if it is all going according to plan.
We’ll see.
So Clive “it looks as if it is all going according to plan”. Bit early to say if it’s all going according to plan, don’t you think? Indeed, what plan? Mind you, your predictions of plans falling into place don’t, shall we say, always go according to plan. This is what you said in Breaking Views a couple of days after Putin’s marched on Ukraine – “From a Russian perspective it is all going according to plan”.
Clutching at straws or just a desperate comment which is at best, poorly chosen in an attempt to discredit me but actually it does the opposite.
Most people with half a brain would have agreed with that comment as being an accurate reflection of the situation from a Russian perspective at the time.
Most people have more than half a brain, Clive...
Quite right, Hugh. Most people have half a brain. Pity that Trump isn't one of them.
Post a Comment