NZ and Australia Lead Global Push for Strengthening Free Trade Talks

By Lucy Craymer and Alasdair Pallard

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY () – New Zealand and Australia announced on Thursday that both countries are collaborating with other nations to potentially develop a united strategy aimed at supporting free trade amid an onslaught of U.S. tariff measures.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand stated during a press briefing that he plans to engage in a sequence of conversations on Thursday with various global leaders to advocate for unrestricted trade. However, he didn’t specify which leaders he intends to contact.

During his address on Thursday, he mentioned an option involving collaboration between member states of the European Union and those partaking in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Global commerce has been disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently imposed broad-ranging tariffs on numerous nations. In response, several affected countries levied their own counter-tariffs, leading to significant market instability.

On Wednesday, Trump unexpectedly did an about-face and announced that he would momentarily halt the significant tariffs he had levied on most nations.

The Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, stated that government officials have been in talks with countries including Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, India, and the European Union regarding a collaborative approach to address the new U.S. tariffs.

In an interview with the state broadcaster ABC, she stated that 'a cluster of nations recognizes the advantages of unrestricted, transparent, and equitable commerce,'

In a speech, Luxon stated that his phone conversations would serve as opportunities for comparing insights on global trade and for discussing how nations can collaborate to strengthen the rules-based trading system, which he sees as a pathway to prosperity.

"One option could be for participants of the CPTPP and the European Union to collaborate in promoting rules-based trade and to make concrete pledges about how this support will materialize in reality," he stated during an address to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

The member nations of the CPTPP consist of Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and the UK.

Luxon mentioned he would be traveling to the United Kingdom in late April to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where they would discuss topics including trade, security, and geopolitics.

We cannot justify staying out of New Zealand," he stated. "We must advocate not only for our own economic benefits but also for the institutions that support these interests.

Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on Australia and New Zealand, the low end of his tariffs for all imports into the United States. Wellington and Canberra have both said they will not retaliate. About 12% of New Zealand's and 5% of Australia's exports went to the U.S. last year.

(Reported by Lucy Craymer in Wellington and Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Edited by Sonali Paul)