Tim Groser: Former trade minister says NZ could not have avoided Trump's Tariff

There was little this country could do to dodge the latest  tariff - this from a former trade minister

Donald Trump's raising tariffs on New Zealand goods to 15 percent, while keeping tariffs on Australian and British goods at 10-percent.

Tim Groser has dealt with the US extensively -- as our trade minister during the Barack Obama administration, and ambassador to the US during the first Trump administration.

He told Mike Hosking current trade minister Todd McClay couldn't have prevented this, even if he'd camped outside the White House.

Groser says our tariff rate rose, because New Zealand exports more goods to the US, than we import from the US.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the real question out of the fifteen percent is what,
if anything, can we do about it? Were we stiffed
given Australia's got ten percent and they must have a
material effect on us being able to do business. Tim Gross,
a former trade ministers back, were this Tim morning.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
To you, good morning mate, would you.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Have taken it personally if you were still in trade No.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
I think the criticism of my successor, Todd mcclay's is
ill informed. That is unfair. I don't believe there would
have been any material difference if it camped outside the
White House for about a month prior to it. It's
quite clear what has happened to here, and that is
countries with the surface New Zealand has what Australia actually
do not. Countries with a surface got quited with at
least fifteen percent, and countries with a deficit didn't. So

(00:41):
I don't believe anything could have done would have changed
that underlying reality. Now, look, mich that is a future
ahead of us, as you're just summarized. And I think
it's entirely correct that the government sending up senior officials
and no doubt the minister will arrive in due course.
But we have to be very, very careful because the
lesson of those countries it did negotiate with the so

(01:01):
called negotiat it wasn't a negotiation, it was agreeing to
things at the point of a gun actually often ends
up worse off as a result. This is a very
unusual situation. I don't think we've seen anything like it.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
No does it stay though from an American point of view,
In other words, once Trump leaves the office, even of
the Republicans, when will they change that, will ever go
back to being what we thought it would be or
should be? Or are we stuck?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
He in a the number one question That is exactly
the number one question. My own view is that the
negative effects of this haven't even begun to kick in
on the American people. I mean, you can't shove in
massive tariff increases on issues that are on commodities that
are crucial to American industry into American consumption without negative effects.

(01:48):
But none of this has been felt yet. These terrifts
don't even take any till August the seventh, So you know,
this is the law of unintended effects is going to
kick in big time, and that may well open up
a completeletely different future. We simply have to play it
by a year.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
What chance we can twist an arm in America and
change anything or bugger all?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Actually, Mike, But the space for that may open up
in the future when the negative fix start to kick in,
for example, if prices start to increase, do you really
want to shove in a fifteen percent tariff on New
Zealand beef for example? So you know that's that's where
the discussion should be, just creating the essentially in a

(02:34):
holding pattern, waiting for an opportunity to arise. But the
idea of us going in there and negotiating with the
United States this is a fantasy because of the imbalance
of path.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Well say, appreciate it as almost im grossive form of
trade Minister. Whethers for more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
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