Jamie Mackay: The Country host on Donald Trump proposing tariffs on agriculture imports

US President Donald Trump has indicated tariffs on imported agricultural products could take effect as soon as April.

This announcement has generated concern among Kiwi farmers, who export billions of dollars worth of meat and dairy to the US every year.

The Country's Jamie Mackay unpacks what this could mean for the nation's primary sector.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is one to watch. The President of the United States,
Donald Trump, today took to his social media platform Truth
Social and said that he would introduce an agricultural tariff
on all agricultural imports coming into the United States from
April to second This is obviously alarmed quite a few
people around the world, no less than here in New Zealand.

(00:22):
We spoke to Nathan Guy from the Meat Industry Association
earlier in the program. He said he's worried. The rate
at which the tariff might be introduced is obviously the
key factor that everyone wants to know. We export more
than a billion dollars worth of derry to the US.
It's our second largest largest market for export goods, and

(00:42):
the red meat sector was up something like sixty percent
from January numbers. Jamie McKay is the host of the Country.
He's with us to wrap the rural news for today.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Hi, Jamie, Hi, I was equally shocked, Ran and just
remember the US might be our second biggest trading partner
now having overtaken Australia, but it's the biggest markets for
our red meat, especially our beef, although they're buying a
lot of high end lamb at the moment.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
You know, our lamb wrecks and all that as well,
But beef exports to the US rows four percent in
volume a year on year from January a year ago
surged seventy three percent in value. The whole thing's worth well,
the whole red meat export market's worth an excess of
ten billion dollars to US now. So if he slaps

(01:31):
a Trump a Trump, you try, if he slaps a
terrify on, who knows what it'll be. China's at ten percent,
Canada and Mexico are at twenty five. You'd have to
think it would sit somewhere round about there. Our only
saving grace, Ryan is Trump loves hamburgers, and we need
our lean beef to mix with that US domestic grain

(01:53):
fed beef to produce burger patties. That might be our
saving grace.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
I genuinely hope that something like that. You know that
there is some serious diplomacy going on behind the scenes
right now, because that has the potential to be quite
devastating to us.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Oh absolutely, And whichever way you slice these Trump tariffs up,
it's bad news for US. We're an exporting nation that
depends on free trade, that has benefited from free trade,
if that's not an oxymoron around the world. And you
know he's putting the squeeze on China. China is our
biggest export market. They're going to have less money to

(02:30):
buy stuff from US. And I think the other story
isn't someone like Brad Olsen, who you've just had on,
would be much better qualified to talk about this than me.
But all these tariffs are going to add to inflationary
pressures in the US. US inflation stays high, our interst
rates are probably going to stay that higher or not
drop as much as they could. So look, he's playing

(02:51):
the whole world at the moment, not only when it
comes to war games, but also when it comes to trade.
As someone said, we're in a fully fledged world trade
more at the moment or on the brink of one.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Certainly, now we've got another global dairy trade auction tonight.
What are you expecting? They've been pretty good lately.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, they've been pretty good. The last one called its jets.
All the banks are sitting and Fonterra sitting around ten
bucks spliming good money. Let's make no bones about that one.
Look the guy I go to Mike McIntyre chart, and
he's pretty accurate. He's predicting down three percent and all
this uncertainty you would imagine around the world. The world

(03:30):
markets have had a bit of a tumble to day
off what Trump's doing with Ukraine and all that sort
of stuff, so I would expect not a maybe not
a somber result. He's picking down three percent, Maybe that
wouldn't be a bad result. The main thing is we're
getting well through the season. The volumes are starting to
slow down or web it off the back of dry
especially in the North Island. So if we can lock

(03:52):
and load ten bucks, dairy farmers would take it.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Brilliant Jamie, Thank you for that. Jamie McKay hosted The Country.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Or from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
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