Kerry tipped for NZ visit in US election aftermath

United States Secretary of State John Kerry is tipped to visit New Zealand after the American election.

New Zealand and US officials refused to comment on reports Kerry would visit in the next fortnight but it is understood there are preparations for a possible visit, though Kerry is yet to confirm his schedule.

Prime Minister John Key said from India yesterday he was ‘‘certainly aware there is interest in Kerry potentially coming’’ but the dates of any visit were yet to be determined.

‘‘He’s been interested for some time in coming down our way.’’

Asked what Kerry’s trip would encompass, Key said he had ‘‘a range of interests in the broader region’’.

US Vice-President Joe Biden is the highest ranked American to visit New Zealand so far, though former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has also made an official stop here.

A US warship, the USS Sampson, arrives here next month for activities commemorating the 75th anniversary of the New Zealand Navy.

But the focus on any visit by Kerry would be firmly on the fallout from the US election result and, in particular, the impact on trading relationships.

A wave of trade protectionism has swept the US during the presidential campaign and Republican candidate Donald Trump has pledged to rip it up. Clinton says she will scale it back.

In a hard-hitting speech yesterday, Kerry warned failure to approve the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal would be a major setback for US interests in Asia, AAP reported.

‘‘If we see the TPP rejected, it would be a gigantic self-inflicted wound - a setback to our own interests in the region,’’ Kerry told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, in remarks that drew a smattering of applause and boos.

‘‘It would amount to a conscious turning of our backs on the Asia Pacific at the very moment that we ought to be linking arms - it would be an act that will hurt American workers, slow our economy, hinder our ability to advance the full range of US objectives.’’

The fate of the TPP rests on US President Barack Obama managing to push it through congress during his ‘‘lame duck’’ period after the election.

The odds are finely balanced.