Trade wars: Trump playing games? - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ explained that in the first volley before the World Economic Forum Donald Trump slapped tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines.

Key Quotes:

"Outside of stepping away from the TPP this was the first real shift from protectionist rhetoric to actual action against China and others. Outside those companies directly affected the economic impact is relatively minor for now and markets hardly blinked. But the real question is how far the protectionist stance might start to be extended as Donald Trump tries to assert his “America First” stance. The best near-term gauge will be the renegotiated outcome of NAFTA.

For NZ this could have plenty of implications as one of the US largest soft commodity markets is Mexico (dairy, grains & meat). Already it is causing Mexico to look for other supply/trade partners in South America and elsewhere. For US farmers it is causing concern on both access to migrate labour, as well as trade. Such disruption has a number of moving parts, but it will be important to watch for its impact on export prices and NZ terms of trade."