New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters is striking an optimistic tone as he heads to Washington to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss relations between the two countries.
President Donald Trump’s intention to introduce across-the-board import tariffs is likely to dominate the discussion.
Peters says he will be taking a cautious approach and emphasising New Zealand’s value to the United States.
Asked whether he believed New Zealand could gain an exemption when Australia—a crucial defence partner for the United States and one that has committed to spending billions on AUKUS submarines—could not, Peters said that was “something we’re going to find out. We’re going to have a discussion about it.”…