Christopher Luxon State of the Nation address
'Our global rules-based system is rupturing'
Luxon says the global rules-based system is rupturing, warning in his State of the Nation address that rules were giving way to power.
"Previously, we could count on countries respecting the UN Charter, the Law of the Sea and the rules of global trade.
"But in an age of sharper competition, we’re seeing a pattern of countries respecting international law only when it suits them and ignoring the rules when it does not," he said.
Luxon said New Zealand's future prosperity can no longer be treated as an inevitable by-product of global rules and institutions.
"Trading arrangements are becoming less certain and less efficient, as businesses adapt to a world where tariffs and protectionism, once out of fashion, have made a raging comeback," he said.
"Previously, we could count on countries respecting the UN Charter, the Law of the Sea and the rules of global trade.
"But in an age of sharper competition, we’re seeing a pattern of countries respecting international law only when it suits them and ignoring the rules when it does not," he said.
Luxon said New Zealand's future prosperity can no longer be treated as an inevitable by-product of global rules and institutions.
"Trading arrangements are becoming less certain and less efficient, as businesses adapt to a world where tariffs and protectionism, once out of fashion, have made a raging comeback," he said.