New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon condemned new US tariffs on Friday as ‘extremely disappointing’ after he and 59 other countries were slapped with fresh levies over forced labour concerns.
“The US investigation did not provide meaningful evidence to support claims regarding forced labour,” Luxon said on X.
“Tariffs are not the way they drive up costs and uncertainty for businesses,” he added.
The levies, effective Friday, range from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent and affect major economies such as China, India and the European Union.
New Zealand faces a 12.5 per cent rate.
Australia was also slapped with the same levy, with Trade Minister Don Farrell describing it as ‘unjustified, inconsistent with our free trade agreement, and should be removed’.
