Donald J. Trump is set to make his return to the Oval office in just a week’s time becoming the 47th President of the United States, returning for a second term following his tenure between 2017 – 2021.
The ceremony will take place on January 20th and is expected to attract many prominent people and public figures.
With the return of Mr Trump the question remains, how will this affect Kiwis?
Sanders Unsworth partner Charles Finney was New Zealand’s lead negotiator of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in 2008, is among those closely watching the US to see how it’ll implicate NZ.
The question looming on everyone’s mind is, how will the tariffs on China affect us? Well in ways it gives New Zealand some big opportunities.
“China is likely to be retaliating against some US products. It might mean less US wine, meat and dairy products going into China and they are still going to need that product from somewhere and New Zealand will be well placed to fill those gaps.”
“The price of Chinese products, in the short term anyway, is likely to be a bit lower. They’ll be desperate to find markets elsewhere and so that will mean potentially lower priced goods coming to New Zealand.”
International travel will be more expensive but goods people in shops and supermarkets might actually get a little cheaper, he said.
Finney said electric vehicles may also become more affordable, so if you are looking to purchase one, getting into the market soon is your best bet.
Finney says, New Zealand’s political and economical irrelevance to the USA gives us somewhat of a silver lining.
“I don’t think Trump has got New Zealand in his sights in any way, so that’s the good news, and we also don’t have a huge trade surplus with the United States,” he said.
“I think we’re the 90th largest trading partner with the United States.”
Photo Credit: Fortune
