By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had his first in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump late on Wednesday in South Korea, ahead of a dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Trump landed in South Korea on the final leg of a trip through Asia on Wednesday, while Luxon is there for the scheduled Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit on Friday and Saturday. Both attended the dinner, which included leaders of Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Thailand and Singapore.
State-owned Radio New Zealand reported that Luxon, who had not previously met with Trump but had spoken with him by phone, briefly met Trump ahead of the dinner. A video posted by media online of the initial interaction showed the two discussing New Zealand’s golf courses.
New Zealand and the U.S. are not allies but the relationship had improved significantly in recent years and the two countries are seen as close partners. However, the U.S. placed a 15% tariff on New Zealand imports earlier this year, higher than neighbouring Australia, providing new challenges for New Zealand exporters of products such as meat and wine.
Luxon said he would not confirm whether tariffs came up in discussion but that the “U.S. administration is very, very clear of the New Zealand position on tariffs,” Radio New Zealand reported.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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