Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says ministers are working to get an exemption for New Zealand from the US' imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Ardern is holding her first press conference since returning to New Zealand from her Pacific Mission last week.

She believed New Zealand had a strong case for an exemption because of its long defence and security relationship with the United States.

She said New Zealand was clearly not an intended target of the tariffs, given its steel exports to the US were small. She said New Zealand also imported more from the US than it exported so there was not the trade imbalance that was concerning US President Donald Trump about some countries.

Ardern said New Zealand's relationship was similar to Australia's in many ways and Australia had been given the exemption. Both New Zealand and Australia are 'five eyes' intelligence partners with the US.

Ardern is expected to be asked for her views on the police pursuits policy after calls from the Automobile Association to review the practises followed by Police and consider a ban on them.

That was sparked by the deaths of three people in a high-speed chase in the Tasman district over the weekend.

National leader Simon Bridges has said he would support a review but would be reluctant to see a ban or any changes that would be an incentive to people to try to out run the police, in the hopes the chase would be abandoned.

Ardern is also expected to be asked about Foreign Minister Winston Peters' comments on Russia and his advocacy for a free trade agreement to go ahead regardless of the current sanctions against Russia for its suspected involvement in the MH17 missile strike in 2014.

On the Nation Peters had said there was as yet no evidence of Russia's involvement in either interfering in the US election or in the missile strike on the MH17 over the Ukraine, killing 298 on board.

"We have a lot of allegations but we do not have the facts laid clearly out. When you're talking about these sorts of moral judgements you might not be trading with anybody very quickly."

Peters had also expressed sympathy for US President Donald Trump's moves to impose tariffs, saying he had "a great deal of sympathy for what I call even-handed fairness." He criticised the EU's objections to the US moves, saying it was agricultural subsidies in the EU which were a barrier for New Zealand's own access.

"That's NZ First and my complaint, that the countries we deal with apply tariffs against us while we've given them total unfettered, free access to our country. It's simply not fair."

National leader Simon Bridges has described Peters' comments as "troubling" and accused him of being an apologist for Russia and potentially imperilling New Zealand's talks with EU by advocating for the Russia agreement.