Luxon to ‘push on’ with Trump amid tariff concerns

New Zealand must work with politicians like Donald Trump regardless of any polarising policies, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said at the conclusion of an international summit where the incoming ruler’s plans loomed large.
Luxon took part in the annual leaders’ retreat at the Apec summit, held this year in Peru’s capital Lima, with politicians gathering behind closed doors to chew over some of the world’s biggest economic issues.
In a joint statement, the Machu Picchu Declaration, the Apec leaders committed to working towards a “free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, inclusive and predictable trade and investment environment” – language echoing leaders’ declarations from previous years, but carrying added weight as the world prepares for the protectionist and pro-tariff policies of incoming United States president.
In a separate chair’s statement, Peru president Dina Boluarte said there had been differing views between members on what to say about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
“Some economies considered that these issues have an impact on the global economy and could be treated in Apec, while other economies do not believe that Apec is a forum to discuss these issues.”
Australian media outlets reported their nation and other “like-minded countries” – likely to include New Zealand – had wanted the leaders’ statement to include comment on the wars and their role in fuelling inflation, but China and Russia were believed to have blocked such a move.
Speaking to New Zealand media after the retreat wrapped up, Luxon said it was clear many countries were wrestling with the same problems of how to deliver greater prosperity and lift living standards.
“We have a lot more going right than wrong to build out from, and so you come away from a forum like this going, here’s has a lot of opportunity…
“If we have enough external orientation, enough ambition and aspiration, and we look outside the bubble of New Zealand and our role in the world, actually we can do exceptionally well for ourselves.”
Luxon said he had made “very strong statements” about the wars and the economic pain and suffering they had caused, with the conflict in Ukraine having driven up the price of rice and grain in the region.
“That’s why I keep saying conflict and security is very strongly linked to economics and prosperity.”
While there had been discussion about an increasing drift towards protectionism across the world, that had not included specific conversations about the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs.
“I understand why you might think that would have been the obsession … [but] the realisation is that there’s work to do in each of the economies at home. How do you get better governance in some of the countries? How do you root out corruption? I had those conversations with many leaders – how do we get the fundamentals of our economic productivity in place?”
Asked by Newsroom whether Trump’s election made it more difficult for Luxon to keep pushing for stronger ties with like-minded partners like the US, he said it was “my job to work with any and every leader” regardless of public perceptions.
“From our point of view it’s like, it is what it is. The American people have spoken, they made their decision, that’s the leader that they’ve selected, and my job is to push on and actually make sure I can make it work for New Zealand.”
Speaking further about his first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Luxon confirmed Aukus had been among the areas of contention raised by the Chinese side during talks.
“They don’t particularly see that as a positive from their perspective in the region, we would disagree – we think it does give regional stability and security … but we also do that in a very mature way, and in fairness, that’s no different from how I would talk to Australia about 501s [deportees] where we have differences as well.”
The Prime Minister would not discuss how exactly Xi or his officials framed their concerns about Aukus, but said the prospect of Chinese retaliation should New Zealand join Pillar II (related to advanced technologies) was “not a consideration” in the Government’s decision-making process.
“We’re going to do this very objectively, very, very dispassionately: is there value in us exploring Aukus Pillar II? Can New Zealand add any value to that alliance relationship or not? And we’ll work our way through.”
Luxon will return to New Zealand in time for the arrival of the Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi at Parliament, although he said he had not yet decided whether he would meet the crowd or receive a smaller delegation.