US-China trade deal unlikely as Donald Trump raises tariffs on metals
US President Donald Trump says it is 'extremely hard' to reach a deal with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as he ramped up his global trade war by doubling tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
The comments on Wednesday and higher levies came as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
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NZ Herald
27 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Letters: Phil Goff's art of saying nothing; Parliament shame; bottom trawling destructive
Then came the plot twist. After 40-plus years of having no opinions anyone could remember, Phil discovered he had a voice. Unfortunately about Donald Trump. In a moment of catastrophic authenticity, he shared them publicly. Career over. The moral? In politics, as in nature, survival often depends on not being noticed. Phil Goff mastered this art for decades, only to forget the first rule of political longevity at the final hurdle: when in doubt, say nothing. James Gregory, Parnell. Parliament haka No wonder the coalition government imposed a disproportionately heavy penalty on Te Pāti Māori MPs for their haka in Parliament: the coalition had to challenge such a dazzling criticism of their failure to honour Te Tiriti, one that bypassed the repetitive wrangling that constitutes a normal day in the house. The haka was a powerful, beautiful, unforgettable work of performance art that posed no threat to individuals, but did threaten the destructive, divisive ideology the Government is pursuing. The greatest art speaks truth to power, truth that power would rather we did not hear. Andrea Dawe, Sandringham. The Chase The headline said 'Paul Henry is to host The Chase NZ'. I was amazed by Paul's modesty when he said: '…and I can be enormously charming when I put my mind to it'. Next we learn The Chase NZ is to be filmed in Sydney. This at a time when we are encouraging film makers to come to New Zealand. If the NZ Chase is to be filmed in Sydney, I would rather forget it and stick with the tried-and-true UK version hosted by Bradley Walsh. John Epsom. Relationship with China For the future of our country let's hope our current Prime Minister listens to advice from former leaders on his upcoming trip to Beijing. Helen Clark, Don Brash, Sir Geoffrey Palmer and others all saying the same thing. In 2008, NZ was the first developed country to have a free trade agreement with China, who are now our biggest trading partner by far. Our current Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, is positioning NZ alongside the United States as an adversary of China. In my opinion this is crazy. If China gets annoyed with us and cancels our exports of dairy products, meat, forestry and fruit this could have catastrophic consequences. NZ exports to China are worth $20 billion. Christopher Luxon needs to convince China we value our joint friendship with them. The Chinese will realise we also have longstanding friendships with US, UK and Australia. However, we should state emphatically that we will remain nuclear-free and will not enter into Aukus or similar military alliances aimed at China. Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay. New Lynn terror attack Families of victims of the New Lynn supermarket stabbings must be aghast to learn that the police Special Tactics Group, specifically deployed to keep the perpetrator under surveillance, decided not to follow him into the supermarket. The team members were armed because of concerns the offender could commit a 'lone wolf' attack yet they stayed outside so as not to blow their cover. This rationalisation was deeply flawed. The tragedy could have been averted. John Walsh, Green Bay. Treaty Principles Bill The expected debacle over the Treaty Principles Bill surprises no one: it was inevitable and highlights the ineptitude of Parliament. Intended to be a place of some gravitas where elected representatives can debate issues and formulate rules by which we can all live, it is in reality a disorganised muddle where politicians preen and carry on like idiots. To misquote Shakespeare, a plague on all your houses. Thank God for the oft-maligned Civil Service that has the unenviable task of making some sense, and creating some order, out of this fiasco. Mike Newland, Matakana. Energy supply A Herald article (June 6) notes the start of construction of the Genesis Energy 100 MW Battery. Genesis chief executive Malcolm Johns is referenced as stating: 'As New Zealand's electricity supply becomes more renewable and subject to weather, this battery will help smooth out fluctuations in supply, ensuring supply remains reliable and secure.' Weather-related fluctuations would have to be of very short duration for the battery to be useful in that context, given it would be flat after just two hours with 100 MW output. The power crisis of the 2024 dry winter lasted two months. Weather-related power variations for time scales of days and months need a much bigger 'battery' – like something equivalent to the Lake Onslow scheme's 1000 MW for 6 months. Earl Bardsley, Hamilton. Bottom trawling Like Edith Cullen (letters, June 6), I am appalled that Aotearoa refuses to ban the hugely destructive practice of bottom trawling. If anyone doubts how devastating this practice is, they should watch David Attenborough's latest movie Ocean. His team managed to get right up close to capture industrial trawlers at work and confronts us with the sight of the grey and lifeless desert it leaves in its wake. Attenborough offers hope but that rests on 'no take zones' and giving the devastated areas time to recover. Why are we going in the wrong direction? Maire Leadbeater, Mt Albert A quick word What do the president of the Law Society, the Deputy Police Commissioner and the Prime Minister's deputy press secretary have in common? Arrogance and stupidity? Bruce Tubb, Devonport. I suspect one of the weaknesses of the public health system is that important decisions are made by persons who have no intention of using the public system themselves. Elizabeth Aloupis, Auckland. A sad day for our beloved Aotearoa ... so ashamed of our Parliament today - Privileges Committee - really says it all, those who are privileged. Bouquets to Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori, who all understood and conveyed the importance of the excessive censure recommended - thank you for representing us with truth and conviction. Janette Anderson, Paeroa. Waikeria Prison, New Zealand's latest and newest hotel. You build them and they will fill them as you get more inside than you get on the outside. Why doesn't the Government do more to keep the prison invasion down is beyond me. We are too soft in New Zealand. Gary Stewart, Foxton Beach. I watched an item on TV1 news this evening (June 5) which included coverage of, what I guess was, the debating chamber of Parliament. My question is - where the heck were all our elected politicians? There appeared to be very few 'bums on seats' so I'm wondering what the heck we're paying them to do if they can't even turn up to work? Shelley Batt, Rotorua. Each year at this time, we can view television coverage of the madness that is the motorcycle racing on the Isle of Man. The event is notorious for its dangers, accidents and its dreadful death statistics. Many recent safety improvements to the course have been made but many stone walls and an undulating roadway remain. The guts of riders is astonishing and to risk one's life at a sporting event is incomprehensible. But every year there is no shortage of starters willing to take the risk whatever us mere mortals may be capable of comprehending. Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
From bros to foes: how the unlikely Trump-Musk relationship imploded
By Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason, Reuters Donald Trump (L) and Elon Musk's unlikely political marriage exploded in a fiery public divorce on 5 June, 2025. Photo: SAUL LOEB and Jim WATSON / AFP When Donald Trump met privately with White House officials on Wednesday, there was little to suggest that the US president was close to a public break with Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman who helped him win a second term in office. Two White House officials familiar with the matter said Trump expressed confusion and frustration in the meeting about Musk's attacks on his sweeping tax and spending bill. But he held back, the officials said, because he wanted to preserve Musk's political and financial support ahead of the 2026 midterm election. By Thursday afternoon, Trump's mood had shifted. He had not spoken to Musk since the attacks began and was fuming over what one White House aide described as a "completely batshit" tirade by the Tesla CEO on X, his social media platform. On Friday, a White House official said Trump was not interested in talking to Musk and no phone call between the two men was planned for the day. Musk had blasted Trump's tax bill as fiscally reckless and a "disgusting abomination." He vowed to oppose any Republican lawmaker who supported it. The bill would fulfill many of Trump's priorities while adding, according to the Congressional Budget Office, $2.4 trillion to the $36.2-trillion US public debt. Privately, Trump had called Musk volatile. On Thursday, he told his team, it was time to take the gloves off. Sitting next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was "very disappointed" in his former adviser. Musk quickly hit back on social media, and the back-and-forth devolved from there. "The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's government subsidies and contracts," Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site. Within minutes, Musk said it might be time to create a new political party and endorsed a post on X from Ian Miles Cheong, a prominent Musk supporter and right-wing activist, calling for Trump's impeachment. The depth of the Trump-Musk relationship at its height was unprecedented in Washington - a sitting president granting a billionaire tech CEO access and influence inside the White House and throughout his government. Musk spent nearly $300 million backing Trump's campaign and other Republicans last year. For months, Musk played both insider and disruptor - shaping policy conversations behind the scenes, amplifying Trump's agenda to millions online, and attacking the bureaucracy and federal spending through his self-styled Department of Government Efficiency. Just last week, Trump hosted a farewell for Musk and declared that "Elon is really not leaving". Now he had not only left but had turned into a top critic. Hours after Trump's Oval Office remarks, a third White House official expressed surprise at Musk's turnaround. It "caught the president and the entire West Wing off guard," she said. Musk did not respond to emails seeking comment about the downturn in relations. His super PAC spending group, America PAC, and spokeswoman Katie Miller did not respond to calls and texts requesting comment. In a statement, the White House called the breakup an "unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted". The Musk-Trump breakup sent Tesla's stock price plunging 14 percent on Thursday and drove uncertainty among Trump's allies in Congress, who are working to pass the monumental spending package that Democrats and a small number of vocal Republicans oppose. Tesla shares clawed back from steep losses on Friday. The breakup could reshape both men's futures. For Trump, losing Musk's backing threatens his growing influence among tech donors, social media audiences, and younger male voters - key groups that may now be harder to reach. It could also complicate fundraising ahead of next year's midterm elections. For Musk, the stakes are potentially even higher. The break risks intensified scrutiny of his business practices that could jeopardise government contracts and invite regulatory probes, which might threaten his companies' profits. Some of Musk's friends and associates were stunned by the fallout, with a number of them only recently expressing confidence that the partnership would endure, according to two other sources familiar with the dynamics. The split had been simmering for weeks, said the first two White House officials, but the breaking point was over personnel: Trump's decision to pull his nomination of Jared Isaacman, Musk's hand-picked candidate to be NASA administrator. "He was not happy" about Isaacman, one of the White House officials said of Musk. Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and close Musk ally, was seen as key to advancing Musk's vision for space exploration and commercial space ventures. After his nomination was scuttled, Isaacman posted on X: "I am incredibly grateful to President Trump, the Senate and all those who supported me." The move was viewed within the administration as a direct snub to Musk, the two officials said, signaling a loss of political clout and deepening the rift between him and Trump's team. Before the Isaacman episode, top White House aides behind the scenes had already begun limiting Musk's influence, quietly walking back his authority over staffing and budget decisions. Trump himself reinforced that message in early March, telling his cabinet that department secretaries, not Musk, had the final say over agency operations. At the same time, Musk began to hint that his time in government would come to a close, while expressing frustration at times that he could not more aggressively cut spending. His threats and complaints about Trump's bill grew louder, but inside the White House, few believed they would seriously alter the course of the legislation - even as some worried about the fallout on the midterms from Musk's warnings to cut political spending, the first two White House officials said. Still, a fourth White House official dismissed the impact of Musk's words on the president's signature bill. "We're very confident," he said. "No one has changed their minds." But there was bafflement at the White House at how a relationship that only last week had been celebrated in the Oval Office had taken such a turn. Time will tell whether the rift can be repaired. - Reuters
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Bill could create global ‘ripple effect'
EV advocates warn of Chinese dominance as a result of cuts to credits in the United States, writes Grant Schwab. The cuts to Biden-era tax credits in the budget passed by the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives could stunt the growth of the nation's still-fledgling electric vehicle industry and create ripple effects throughout the global vehicle market, clean energy advocates warn. "Anybody who claims to be concerned about Chinese dominance in battery minerals and supportive of US competitiveness in that sector needs to know: This bill is absolutely devastating to that goal," Zero Emission Transportation Association executive director Albert Gore said. The credits are meant to stoke both the domestic supply of critical minerals and advanced battery technologies and the demand for products that use those materials, namely next-gen, zero-emission vehicles. Environment-minded conservatives argue that broader tax breaks — which would be less targeted towards EVs and critical minerals — and regulatory rollbacks are instead best for growing those industries, and that Democrats are wrong to catastrophise over the changes. But with significant policy whiplash looming, advocates said multibillion-dollar investments in key sectors could shrivel thanks to the harsh realities of competing with the United States' chief economic rival. They also predicted political consequences for Republicans if the Senate follows suit and President Donald Trump, who has been critical of non-Tesla electric vehicles, signs a rollback into law. "The plan passed by House leadership will make it harder to produce the energy America needs, while simultaneously putting hundreds of projects, thousands of jobs and billions in investments at risk — mostly in Republican states that elected them," Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, a nonpartisan business group focused on energy and the environment, said in a statement. Even with those risks, House Republicans voted to pull back on EV-related credits in their tax and spending mega bill that passed along party lines on May 22 after all-night negotiations. The final version of the package seeks to eliminate four tax credits for EVs by the end of 2025 and modify another on manufacturing that industry leaders have said is crucial to building domestic battery prowess. The EV credits include offering $7500 on the purchase of qualifying new light-duty models, $4000 for used models, providing up to $40,000 for commercial vehicles and giving $1000 to individuals to install EV chargers. A manufacturing credit targets battery producers and upstream industries. Battery cells are each eligible for a credit of $35 per kilowatt-hour of energy they can store. Critical mineral miners, processors, purifiers and recyclers can claim a credit equal to 10% of their production costs. The bill proposes phasing out that credit a year earlier than initially planned and adding new requirements against the use of materials from certain foreign nations. "The production credit is critical for our industry, and it will be a significant impact for our industry if it goes away," Ford chief executive Jim Farley said at the Detroit Auto Show in January. "Many of our plants in the Midwest that have converted to EVs depend on the production credit". — TNS
