Trump's tariffs: These ones look like they'll stick

Happy weekend! Here’s my latest episode of The Detail podcast.

You can listen to it on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube. (It also played on RNZ at 6:30 this morning but I was still asleep, despite my cat’s best efforts.)

This week I talked to my old colleague, David Lynch, who’s the international economics correspondent for the Washington Post — and he did similar roles for the Financial Times and Bloomberg before that. So he knows his stuff.

David told me that the 12.5 percent tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on New Zealand this month are more likely to survive legal challenges than the previous levies.

That’s because they’ve been imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the Office of the US Trade Representative to impose levies for unfair foreign trade practices, intellectual property violations, or forced labour concerns.

Plus I asked David why, despite all the tariffs and the oil crisis caused by Trump’s Mideast misadventure, the global economy is holding up ok.

I enjoyed making this episode, and hope I’m getting into the swing of this podcasting business. I even had training this week with Grant Walker, whose voice you might know from Sale of the Century, Dancing with the Stars and Lotto. Let me know how I’m getting on!

Have a good weekend. I’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday

-anna