Brexit, trade war make environment unstable for New Zealand exporters

[WELLINGTON] The US-China trade war and uncertainty around Brexit have created an unstable global environment for New Zealand exporters to operate in, the country's finance minister said on Tuesday.

"All this adds up to a global environment in which New Zealand exporters operate that is both unstable and uncertain," Grant Robertson said ahead of the May 30 budget speech.

Mr Robertson said the International Monetary Fund has forecast growth for New Zealand at 2.5 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2020.

He added that the government has identified NZ$1 billion (S$902 million) of spending that is no longer priority or where funding previously allocated is no longer needed.

REUTERS