Hon Todd McClay
Minister for Trade and Investment
Minister of Agriculture

Agriculture, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Saudi Arabia and then to the United States (US) next week to meet with his trade and agriculture counterparts.

In Riyadh, Mr McClay will meet with Minister of Commerce, HE Dr Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, and Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, HE Eng Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, to advance bilateral trade and investment opportunities, including in food and agritech cooperation.

The visit will also be an opportunity discuss how best to leverage the New Zealand-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement, for which negotiations concluded last year.

Mr McClay will then travel on to Washington D.C. at the invitation of United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer. He will also meet with U.S. industry representatives, think tanks, and his agriculture counterpart, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

“Following the United States’ 1 August decision to apply a 15 per cent, or more, tariff to ever country with a trade surplus, this visit will be an opportunity to discuss the impact of that decision and better understand the factors that may influence future U.S. tariffs,” Mr McClay says.

“New Zealand and the United States have a long-standing, well-balanced trading relationship, with periods where the US has enjoyed a surplus and times, like now, when New Zealand has a modest one. Overall, our trade is complementary and reflects the strength of a long-standing partnership.

“I will be seeking to understand the effect of any change in trade flows for example, if New Zealand’s current surplus shifted to a deficit, and what that might mean for our exporters,” Mr McClay says.

“The US currently faces an average tariff of just 0.3 per cent when exporting to New Zealand, far lower than what we face into their market.

“It’s important that we raise these concerns constructively, while reaffirming our commitment to the strong, cooperative relationship we have with the United States,” Mr McClay says.

Meetings in Washington will cover wider bilateral trade, investment and agricultural priorities.

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