One of the advantages of living on the outskirts of a metropolis is one is kept abreast of rural matters through various publications dropped in the letterbox. One that comes through my box is the Farmers Weekly which provides a very informative read on topics concerning the land. One headline that caught my eye this week read as follows: “DCANZ: PM’s comment hurt EU trade negotiations”. (DCANZ stands for Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand).
The article begins:
Incredulous dairy industry leaders had to pull the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern into line ahead of the final stages of trade talks with the European Union after she made comments the industry now believes delivered the final blow to its hopes for commercially meaningful access to the market of 450 million people. Ardern’s conclusion of four years of negotiations with the EU has been met with a hail of criticism from the key pastoral sectors.
The beef the dairy leaders have with Ardern is to do with comments she made they believe may well have tipped off the Europeans to a last-minute change in New Zealand’s bottom line in the trade talks. Hence they had to pull her aside. It transpires that Ardern, in answering a question on whether she was prepared to walk away from anything more than a “low quality” deal replied, “Of course what we are seeking is an improvement on the status quo.” Cabinet meanwhile had amended the negotiating mandate given to our trade negotiators from a “commercially meaningful” deal for key exports to the lower threshold of an improvement on status quo market access.
Dairy Companies’ Association Chairman, Malcolm Bailey, said “We have great negotiators but this signalling made their task seem like mission impossible for dairy and beef. After being contacted by DCANZ, Ardern and other ministers changed tack again to stress the Government remained committed to ‘commercially meaningful’ outcomes for dairy and meat exports and was prepared to walk away from the deal if these couldn’t be achieved.
“We encouraged the Government to toughen the language but it was obvious the EU side simply did not believe this”, Bailey said. “The damage had already been done.” Bailey said Ardern’s comments were a “gift” to the EU’s protectionists in the negotiations who then knew they could just stonewall. A senior executive at a big dairy exporter was certain Ardern’s comments would have been relayed back to Brussels by the EU Ambassador.
So what do we take out of this cluster muck? First, we have a bunch of absolute numpties running this country. Ardern obviously has no idea how to handle trade negotiations when up against hard-nosed opponents. You have to fight strength with strength. You certainly don’t give the slightest appearance of raising the white flag.
What is the point of engaging top class negotiators and then promptly proceeding to pull the ground out from under them?
It is galling and embarrassing to think that these are the clowns we are offering up on the world stage. Thomas Coughlan writing in the NZ Herald on the respective leaders’ overseas trips headlined his article that Luxon’s were luckless while Ardern was filling her sails. In Ardern’s case, that’s bad terminology concerning the EU deal. Her remarks ensured the tide went out and the deal was sunk as a result. Ardern only shines when she’s hobnobbing with her socialist comrades or giving out staged hugs and kisses.
We must ensure that they are put out to pasture next year. Their verbal emissions are best discharged from the Opposition benches. It’s where they will do the least damage economically and socially. The EU fiasco tells the world we are a soft touch when it comes to doing deals and shows that Ardern is a disaster both at home and abroad.
