Trade Minister Todd McClay confirms 15% Trump tariff due to trade surplus

Friday, 22 August 2025

The US has raised tariffs on New Zealand exports from 10% to 15%. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Trade Minister Todd McClay say it’s unfair and are pushing for talks.

Trade Minister Todd McClay has confirmed in Washington DC that a 15% tariff applied to New Zealand goods by the Trump administration is due to New Zealand’s trade surplus with the US.

But, while he has secured agreement for future meetings with a Trump official to “discuss the impact of tariffs”, there is no indication the Trump administration will relieve New Zealand of a new tax on its exports.

McClay has been in the US capital this week to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

He urgently sought the meetings after US President Donald Trump surprised New Zealand officials by placing a 15% tariff on New Zealand exports in July, raising the levy from the prior 10% that was baseline for all countries under his sweeping tariff regime.

While McClay was at the time left guessing if this was because New Zealand had a trade surplus with the US, meaning it sold more goods to the US than it imported, this was not made apparent by the administration or its embassy in Wellington.

Trade Minister Todd McClay was in Washington DC in August to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Trump has routinely decried US trade deficits, and has used tariffs as a blunt tool to force countries to cut deals that he claims will reduce trade imbalances.

Having met with Greer in Washington, McClay’s office on Friday issued a statement saying the Trump trade official confirmed in relation to the surplus.

The tariff was a “new bottom tariff rate of 15%, or higher, for all countries that sold more to the US than they bought”.

Greer and McClay agreed to meet in the coming months to “discuss the impact of tariffs on New Zealand- US trade and consider practical ways to give exporters greater certainty”.

The pair would meet at the Asean trade ministers’ meeting in Malaysia in September, and at the Apec leaders’ summit in Korea in October, where “they would consider any next steps to strengthen trade”.

The statement from McClay’s office said that New Zealand had an average tariff rate of 0.3% on US goods, and “at different times, each side has enjoyed a trade surplus”.

McClay’s meeting with Greer is among Government efforts to impress upon the US its commitment to the relationship.

Earlier Friday, Foreign Minister Winston Peters spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone, discussing the defence and trade relationship, among other regional and international events.

A spokesperson for Rubio issued a statement that said the pair spoke of “economic ties”.

“Secretary Rubio expressed his appreciation for New Zealand’s recent courageous operation to evacuate certain US personnel from McMurdo Station in Antarctica.”

The call came the morning after Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins announced New Zealand would spend more than $2 billion on five MH-60R Seahawks for the navy.

The helicopters would be bought through the US foreign military sales programme from Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky.

The billion-dollar purchase has the potential to sway the trade balance, potentially shrinking a deficit for the US, or turning it into a surplus.

Asked whether the announcement was timed for McClay’s visit, Collins said it was made this week as Cabinet signed off the decision on Monday.

Peters said the Seahawk was identified as the preference -- over potential European helicopters -- before the announcement of 15% tariffs.

Both denied the US trade balance was a factor. Australia also operates a fleet of Seahawks, meaning there would be “interoperability” advantages.