MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kiwi Deputy PM welcomed at Casa Rosada for talks with Milei

Seymour and Milei were pictured with a chainsaw

Argentine President Javier Milei hosted New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister, David Seymour, at the Casa Rosada on Tuesday. The meeting focused on expanding bilateral trade and underscored the ideological alignment between the two administrations regarding state deregulation and fiscal austerity.

The sitdown's primary objective was to format a more robust framework for Argentine exports. Alongside Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, the officials discussed logistics and trade routes, particularly China Eastern Airlines’ Shanghai-Buenos Aires flight featuring a stopover in Auckland.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), trade between the two nations is on a significant upward trajectory. The US$63.4 million worth of Argentine exports by November 2025 represented a 29.6% increase over the last five years. The main products are Soybean meal (US$57.5mn), processed fruits and nuts (US$1.25mn, and vegetable residues (US$1.25mn).

The meeting was marked by a high degree of personal and political affinity. Seymour, the leader of New Zealand’s ACT party, has implemented policies remarkably similar to Milei’s “chainsaw” plan.

Upon taking office, he pushed for a drastic reduction in New Zealand's executive branch, cutting the number of ministries from 41 to 20 to eliminate what he termed a “bloated” bureaucracy. Both leaders posed for photographs with a chainsaw, the iconic symbol of Milei’s Libertarian movement.

Both administrations were said to be like-minded regarding Covid-19 mandatory quarantines, which were particularly harsh and famous worldwide under Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Additionally, Seymour recently introduced a bill to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi, the 1840 founding agreement between the British Crown and the Māori people. The proposal, which seeks to standardize rights across all ethnic groups rather than maintain specific indigenous protections, sparked massive protests.

While the Māori make up approximately 17.4% of New Zealand's population, the bill faced a rejection rate of nearly 70% in various public opinion polls.

Seymour, 37, is a leader of the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT) and describes himself as a right-wing liberal activist. The party led by the New Zealand official is part of the ruling coalition in New Zealand, along with the National Party and New Zealand First.

The meeting with Seymour signals Argentina's intent to seek partners beyond traditional blocs, focusing on nations that share the administration's “small state” doctrine.