View from New Zealand: 'Keep Your Head Down'

A pro-American former minister and ambassador worries about the U.S. trade retreat's global impact.

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When Americans consider how the upheavals of the Trump era affect the rest of the world, they usually think of Europe, Canada or perhaps Japan.

Yet few countries have benefited more from a stable, rules-based international system than New Zealand. And few people have observed that system more closely than Tim Groser — a former trade, climate change and conservation minister, former ambassador to the United States, Indonesia and the World Trade Organization, and one of New Zealand’s most experienced diplomats.

On this season of The Diplomacy Podcast, I’m introducing you to some of the policymakers, diplomats, journalists and scholars I meet as I travel to more than 20 countries researching a book on the shifting international system. They share how U.S. actions are changing their countries.

Unapologetically pro-American, Groser offers a sober assessment of where U.S. leadership is retreating, why trade concerns him more than any other area, and why New Zealand’s instinct in today’s geopolitical climate is remarkably simple: keep your head down.

If you appreciate thoughtful, highly informed and expertly analytical insight from a longtime practitioner, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com