There are very few strategic risks to New Zealand from our current levels of exposure to imports from China, concludes a new report from the New Zealand China Council, co-sponsored by NZIBF.
Wanted! New FTA Partners
New research commissioned by the NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) identifies options for New Zealand’s next tranche of trade negotiations.
Trade is the country’s lifeblood and trade has boosted the economy during the pandemic. Getting products to market is critical. New Zealand has done incredibly well over the last thirty years to open new markets, but now is the time to start thinking about potential new targets. That’s why NZIBF has commissioned Sense Partners to provide a forward-looking, data-driven assessment of priority partners for the future. The report – “Wanted! New FTA Partners” – is being released at simultaneous events in Auckland and Wellington on 29 June 2021.
Busy trade agenda
New Zealand’s trade negotiating agenda is entering a new phase. The “mega-regionals” have now been completed – the little known RCEP and earlier the very well-known CPTPP. This means that New Zealand’s long-term strategy of seeking transformative agreements with partners in the Asia Pacific region, first outlined in the early 1990s, has largely run its course.
That does not mean of course that the region is trade barrier-free: some of the agreements we have negotiated still do not provide tariff-free market access, especially in dairy and meat, with important partners like Japan, Korea and Canada. We have to work to upgrade and expand existing agreements, as we have recently done with China, and we have important negotiations with the EU, the UK and others to complete. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is badly in need of attention.
Trading ahead
The report notes that despite our success New Zealand still has no existing or planned preferential market access with almost 40 percent of the world’s economy and consumers. While the United States comprises a significant proportion of this, there is plenty of scope to start now to look at expanding trade relations with a range of other partners.
The report notes that despite our success New Zealand still has no existing or planned preferential market access with almost 40 percent of the world’s economy and consumers.
The report uses a “FTA Partner Suitability Index” to identify some 22 economies which New Zealand should be thinking about seriously with an eye to future trade growth. This is not one list to rule them all: some of the potential partners present negotiating difficulties; others are not well-known to New Zealand. What is important is that we start the process of thinking about future partners and how best to engage with them, whether on the basis of high quality and comprehensive FTAs or other means. We should be thinking too both about our traditional areas of export strength and also how to include new sectors like services, digital and the creative economy as well as the needs of SMEs, Māori business and women entrepreneurs.
What’s next ?
We’re keen for feedback on these ideas. The report is a means to develop a conversation with exporters, stakeholders and the Government about where our priorities might lie in the future, recognising that we have a busy agenda today to get on with and finish.
FTAs are not the only factor in developing export business. At best they open doors which businesses can then go through and they provide an environment within which costs are lowered, time can be saved and risks are mitigated. As the pandemic has shown, trade has continued to uphold the New Zealand economy through the crisis. Other storms are likely to appear in the future and while we are rightly doing the business of today, it is useful to build for tomorrow.
This post was prepared by Stephen Jacobi, Executive Director of the NZ International Business Forum. Read the Sense Partners’ report here.
REGISTER WITH TRADE WORKS
Register to stay up to date with latest news, as well as saving and discussing articles you’re interested in.
Latest News
Sourcing from the world’s factory – new research report into imports from China
There are very few strategic risks to New Zealand from our current levels of exposure to imports from China, concludes a new report from the New Zealand China Council, co-sponsored by NZIBF. Even if we were to diversify our sources, China is now so...
ADDRESS TO THE 54TH ONE STOP UPDATE FOR THE ACCOUNTANT IN BUSINESS – GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPDATE
AUCKLAND, WELLINGTON, CHRISTCHURCH, MAY 2024 STEPHEN JACOBI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM Introduction Thanks once again to Brightstar for the opportunity to address you today. I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person as I am travelling...
APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Joint Statement 2024
2024 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Joint Statement Arequipa, Peru | 18 May 2024 We, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT), met in Arequipa, Peru on 17-18 May 2024, chaired by Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and...
Business Forum welcomes UAE FTA negotiations
Media release, 7 May 2024 The NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) welcomes the start of formal negotiations on the New Zealand/UAE Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and looks forward to steady progress that will lead to the securing of a comprehensive...
Doubling our exports with zeroes…and ones!
The development of written language in the ancient world didn’t start with great poetry or literary epics. The catalyst for writing was the need to record the transfer of the ownership of goods from one person to another. Scribes did this by marking tablets of clay...
Asia-Pacific business leaders rally for robust global trade amidst rising protectionism
APEC NEWS RELEASE Issued by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) - April 2024 This week in Hong Kong, China, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) voiced serious concerns regarding the global shift towards protectionism and regional fragmentation, risking...
SUBMISSION TO THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE – APRIL 2024
NEW ZEALAND-UAE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF), whose members are listed at Annex A[1]. NZIBF is a forum of senior business leaders working together...
NEW TEAM FOR AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND LEADERSHIP FORUM
Media release, 2 April 2024 The New Zealand Co-Chair of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF), Greg Lowe, welcomes the appointment of Stephen Jacobi and Simon Le Quesne to the New Zealand arm of the ANZLF Secretariat. The ANZLF brings business leaders,...
NZ/EU FTA A BONUS FOR SOME SECTORS – BUSINESS FORUM
Media release, 22 March 2024 The NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) acknowledges the passage of the implementing legislation for the New Zealand/European Union Free Trade Agreement and looks forward to the FTA’s entry into force on 1 May. “This agreement was...
“MEAGRE OUTCOME” FROM WTO IN ABU DHABI – BUSINESS FORUM
Media release, 2 March 2024 Despite its overwhelming importance at the heart of the international trade system, members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have concluded their Ministerial in Abu Dhabi (“MC13”) with only a meagre outcome. NZ International Business...
To go or woe with the WTO?
We’ve been here before with the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The global trade body’s 13th Ministerial meeting (“MC13”) opens in Abu Dhabi on Monday 26 February, with Trade Minister McClay serving as Vice-Chair. In recent weeks diplomats, trade...
DCANZ – Agricultural Subsidy Distortions Must Be Addressed
23 February 2024 - Media Release by the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) As the world’s Trade Ministers head to a WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) is calling for an immediate capping of agricultural...
Asia-Pacific business leaders call for greater economic dynamism with people at the center of the APEC agenda
16 February 2024 - APEC NEWS RELEASE Issued by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), meeting this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, expressed deep concerns about the growing pressures of economic fragmentation and the risks...
SUBMISSION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE COMMITTEE – FEBRUARY 2024
NEW ZEALAND EUROPEAN UNION FREE TRADE AGREEMENT LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL Introduction and Summary This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) and Export NZ. NZIBF is a forum of senior business leaders working...
ABAC Statement on WTO MC13 – February 2024
Now, more than ever, the world needs a credible, relevant, and effective multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. In this era of global challenges, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) recognizes that the WTO is...