On Wednesday, April 2, Donald Trump announced a glut of broad-sweeping tariffs on all but a few countries in the world. These tariffs ranged from 10% to 49% and came in response to what the United States president says are much higher tariffs being levied by other nations.
While the announcement has sent economic commentators – and the US stock market – into a tailspin, the reality is that the tariffs are now in effect, and smaller exporting nations such as New Zealand will need to deal with their consequences imminently.
But what are the impacts of these tariffs? How will it affect New Zealand’s economy? Read on as we break down the key points below.
What Tariffs Has Trump Imposed on New Zealand Exports?
New Zealand escaped with the lower range of tariffs on Trump’s so-called Liberation Day, getting hit with a 10% levy across the board.
That means that for every $1000 of product that Kiwis export to the United States, a $100 tariff will have to be paid. Given that the United States is New Zealand’s second-largest trading partner after China, this initially seems like a big shift.
However, as the chief economist of one of the country’s biggest banks, Westpac, says, the “devil will be in the detail”.
For example, New Zealand currently has a 213,000-tonne tariff-free quota of beef exports to the United States. With the implementation of the new 10% tariffs, it is unclear whether this quota remains, or is eradicated.
Should it remain, there will be very little impact; if it is removed, the cost would be shocking.
“Last year we exported about 170,000 metric tonnes of beef to the US, but we have a tariff-free quota of about 213,000 tonnes,” Eckhold said. “We don’t know if that is going to be changed, but I suspect that might be something Congress has to be involved with.”
Overall, New Zealand exports close to $9 billion of product to the United States each year. That means that if all tariff quotas are removed, Kiwi exporters will be looking at a bill of $900 million. It’s a big ‘if’ though, with details yet to come about the exact mechanisms of the new changes.
Trade War to Negatively Impact Kiwi Households
What Kiwis don’t want is to begin a trade war with the United States by responding with reciprocal tariffs. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon reiterated that this is not the plan, highlighting the negative impact it would have on household disposable income.
“What we wouldn’t want to do is raise prices here in New Zealand and add to inflation here in New Zealand by doing that, which is exactly what would happen,” he said.
If New Zealand were to introduce tariffs on American imports, that would drive up prices and cut down the spending money that Kiwis currently use elsewhere. Should this happen, industries that are not tied to America would also be affected.
For example, betting sites NZ would likely see a significant downturn in customers’ spending if New Zealand slapped the United States with tariffs. This is because prices would rise in other areas, cutting the overall disposable income that individuals have.
Industries such as online casinos and sports betting are typically viewed as luxury goods, meaning they would be some of the first to see a drop-off when things tighten. Time will tell whether this comes to fruition or not, however, as details are still emerging over exactly how Trump’s tariff will unfold.
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