1 week Ago By Jamie Ensor
Christopher Luxon ’s rolodex of world leaders got a workout this week, as the Prime Minister took his “fight” for free trade global in the face of the “instability” caused by US President Donald Trump. Championing something like the free flow of goods around the globe may not quite get the juices of the average voter going. But Luxon has been quick to connect trade with Kiwis ’ “prosperity”, describing it as “the lifeblood of the New Zealand economy”, critical to agriculture, tourism and our “burgeoning” tech sector.
As David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill suffered its entirely predictable defeat on Thursday afternoon, Luxon was elsewhere, hitting the phones to respond to the entirely unpredictable nature of Trump’s tariffs regime – and potentially lay out how he sees the future of free trade. Speaking yesterday, Luxon said while others may be declaring an end to the rules-based international order which has been so valuable to New Zealand, he was “not ready to throw in the towel quite yet”. “Kiwis have worked too hard and for too long, to give up on the values and institutions which have seen our country and the region we live in thrive,” Luxon said.
.
