Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Trump may be wielding tariffs but he’s not winning the trade war

A recent New York Times article argues that Donald Trump is winning the trade war. “As major economies fall in line to sign agreements that include the highest tariffs in modern history, the president’s vision for global trade is rapidly being realized.”

Ostensibly this is because EU, Japan and other countries have made peace with 15 to 20 percent tariffs. While these tariffs are certainly lower than what was proposed earlier, they are still much higher than the approx. 3 per cent that prevailed prior to this. These tariffs are also at their highest level since the early part of the 20th century.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: A Less Hysterical Look at the Regulatory Standards Bill

The Regulatory Standards Bill seems to have elicited a level of outrage that seems incommensurate with what the bill actually proposes.

What does the bill seek to do?

The bill lays out a set of principles that should guide legislation. These can be summarized into three broad headings.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Ian Taylor is entitled to his opinion but not his facts

Recently Ian Taylor wrote a column in Stuff taking issue with David Seymour’s rise to Deputy Prime Minister. According to Taylor, Seymour’s rise to the second seat is far beyond Seymour’s mandate.

It is not clear whether Taylor was similarly outraged, when Winston Peters became Deputy Prime Minister since NZ First’s vote share in 2023 was similar to ACT’s; or when Winston Peter crowned Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister in 2017 even though Labour received a much smaller share of votes compared to National in that election.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Trump’s war against Universities

Universities push back

Harvard university recently made news by refusing to bow down to the Trump administration’s demands in order to retain more than US $2 billion in federal grants and contracts. Harvard’s stance stands in contrast to the one adopted by Columbia earlier, where the latter agreed to most demands in order to keep about US $400 million of federal funds.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand

Dame Anne Salmond recently wrote a column on Newsroom berating people for having views on the Treaty of Waitangi when they cannot even read the Māori version of the treaty.

So, what she is saying is that even when customs, laws or treaties impinge on your daily life, you cannot hold any views on these matters if you are unable to read the relevant documents in their original form.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Oral submission on the Treaty Principles Bill

My name is Ananish Chaudhuri. I am Professor of Economics at the University of Auckland. My views are my own and not those of my employer.

Thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to speak this morning.

I was born in India and did my undergraduate studies there. I studied further and then taught in the United States for many years. I am a citizen of New Zealand and have called this place “home” for more than two decades. I have two daughters, 19 and 16, who were born here.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Debate around ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill essential for a multi-ethnic nation

I support the Treaty Principles Bill introduced by ACT. I believe the debate around this bill is fundamentally important if New Zealand is to remain a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation.

Here is the way I see it. While I fully acknowledge the discrepancies between the Maori and English versions of Te Tiriti Waitangi, the debate on whether Maori ceded sovereignty to the British Crown is sublimated by a long list of subsequent acts (and laws) that hold New Zealand to be an independent sovereign state. Parliamentary sovereignty has long been considered a foundational constitutional rule.