Trade Minister Todd McClay will be the first New Zealand minister to officially meet with a member of the Trump administration on Washington soil later this week.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Mr McClay will travel to the United States to meet with the new Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and key members of Congress.
He has already met Mr Lighthizer a number of times, including at the APEC trade ministers' meeting in Vietnam in May, but Mr McClay said they did not specifically discuss matters such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.
Mr McClay said the US was a vital trade partner for New Zealand, worth more than $16bn in two-way trade, and he would be highlighting the importance of that relationship, and the need for both countries to show leadership in the Pacific.
He said he would talk about New Zealand's co-operation in the World Trade Organisation against barriers to trade.
