FACE TO FACE
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will have her first formal meeting with US President Donald Trump this morning in a much-anticipated encounter between two leaders who have been cast as political opposites.
It is understood the meeting in New York will precede preliminary trade talks between New Zealand and the United States, which are set to begin in Washington next month.
A free trade deal could save Kiwi exporters tens of millions of dollars a year in lower tariffs, particularly in the primary sector and the knowledge economy — though negotiations are expected to take years and the outcome is uncertain.
Ardern, who landed in New York yesterday, meets Trump after delivering the keynote address at the United Nations Climate Summit and meeting British leader Boris Johnson.
Trump arrived in New York a few hours later with a police escort, roads blocked by barriers and police vehicles, and a constant helicopter presence.
Ardern has met Trump informally in previous years on the sidelines of Apec and at a reception in New York, but this will be their first formal sit-down, with trade firmly on the agenda.
The meeting is of particular interest given the NZ leader is seen by some as the anti-Trump — as proclaimed in a headline in Vogue magazine last year.
Ardern, for her part, has been diplomatic towards the US President since becoming Prime Minister. She has refrained from directly criticising him, though she spoke up in July when he attacked four non-white Congresswomen.
“Usually I don’t get into other people’s politics, but it will be
clear to most people that I completely and utterly disagree with him.” she said at the time.
Ardern has called today’s meeting a bilateral, but a White House daily schedule is calling it a “pull-aside”.
The meeting is highly secretive, with a blanket ban on media access — the only one of Trump’s meetings today that is closed to media.
Ardern told reporters in New York last night that she did not know why the ban had been put in place.
“No, I do not [know why] but it’s not us. We’re always open. We love having you guys around.”
The Herald understands senior trade officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) have already been invited to Washington for preliminary talks in mid-October, building on previous work including visits to the US by Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
“This will be a chance to continue a conversation that actually the Deputy Prime Minister started some time ago,” Ardern said.
Trump has pulled the US towards a more protectionist “America-first” position, but free trade advocates say
the White House — and whoever may be President — may be more open to free trade agreements by the time negotiations have finished.
In their 20-minute meeting, the two leaders could also discuss security issues, China’s influence in the Pacific, climate change and the Christchurch Call, which the US supports in principle but has not signed.
Ardern said NZ’s concerns with free trade talks will be to protect drug agency Pharmac, the Treaty of Waitangi, and intellectual property.
Both countries will be reluctant to sign a trade agreement that is not mutually beneficial, and the question remains over how New Zealand, a small fish in the global trade game, can entice the US into a trade deal.
“A bilateral deal for the US is a very big market for us, but we’re not a very big market for them,” said ExportNZ executive director Catherine Beard.
“So our negotiating position is not as strong as if in a multilateral agreement.” She said NZ’s good standing in the Pacific could sweeten the deal.
A deal with the US would see similar benefits for Kiwis to what the CPTPP has opened with Japan — a huge market of high income consumers. Two-way trade with the US is already worth $18 billion a year.
Jordan Small, executive director of the NZUS Council, said a deal would grow certain sectors significantly.
“The creative industries, intellectual property, transport services — these are all [the] fastest growing and most innovative parts of the New Zealand economy.”
Beard said it was good to start early talks now, and by the time a deal was ready to be signed, the White House may be less protectionist. “FTA deals tend to take five to seven years.”