The Federation of Māori Authorities (FOMA) Business Summit, held today in Hamilton, brought together business leaders from across Aotearoa to discuss key issues affecting their industries.
One prominent topic discussed was the potential impact of President Trump’s announcement of a 10% tariff, with members reflecting on what this could mean for Māori businesses and the wider export sector.
FOMA Chair, Traci Houpapa, highlighted the organisation’s significant role in Aotearoa New Zealand’s export profile. She stressed the importance of assessing global markets and trade arrangements. She adds that despite the tariff announcement, the key is to continue to identify opportunities that will best serve Māori businesses.
“We need to think more carefully about how we do business and who with and where we decide to do business. We also have a number of trade arrangements in place that protects market access that isn’t in the North American region.
“For FOMA members, we’ll be looking more to those opportunities” she said
Paul Morgan, a long-standing entrepreneur and former board chair of Nelson-based food and beverage exporter Kono, remains sceptical that President Trump’s tariffs will achieve the intended economic effects.
With decades of experience in international trade, Morgan questions whether the tariffs will truly benefit the U.S. economy or disrupt global supply chains, potentially causing more harm than good for New Zealand businesses.
“He’s got a view that the trade system is not fair to the US, and he wants to rebalance it. Whether his tariff policy achieves that, I doubt very much”
Me whai tonu i te huarahi kua oti kē i a tātou te para
E ai ki te Minita Tuarua Tauhokohoko ō-mua, a Nanaia Mahuta ahakoa ngā uauatanga o te wā i te rāngai tauhokohoko o te ao, me whakawhirinaki atu a Aotearoa ki ngā hononga tauhokohoko e pai ake ai te tuku i ngā rawa ki te ao.
Hei tāna, mā konei ka kite i te whakawhanaketanga o te ohanga Maori.
“As a small country, we can’t be reliant on any one country, we have to buffer our interest by having agreements with a range of countries to be able to get our products out from Aotearoa out and across the globe at the best price possible”.
E ai ki Te Manatū Aorere, ko Amerika te hoa tauhokohoko tuatoru o ngā whenua ka tukuna atu ngā rawa e Aotearoa. No te tau 2023 i kitea he 8.3 piriona tāra te wāriu o aua rawa, he pikinga mā te 5.8%.
Ahakoa ka kore tātou e kite i te wāriu o ngā rawa Māori e tono atu ana ki Amerika, e whakapae ana rātou ko ngā rawa Māori ka kite i ngā tatauranga whānui o Aotearoa.
