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.
Remarks made by ABAC New Zealand Chair Rachel Taulelei to GS1 Retail Plenary, 25 February 2022
APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL
ADDRESS TO GS1 RETAIL PLENARY
25 FEBRUARY 2022
RACHEL TAULELEI
ABAC NZ
HOW IDENTIFICATION AND TRUST ARE NEEDED TO ENABLE CROSS-BORDER TRADE
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou katoa.
It is a pleasure to be taking part in this GS1 Retail Plenary.
As was just mentioned, I am the immediate past Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council, or ABAC.
We are a group of senior business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region. Our mandate is to advise the region’s Leaders on the most pressing issues of the day.
There can be few issues more pressing than how we can work together to restart the engines for growth.
The region has done better than most over the last two years – but the downside risks to sustained prosperity are still daunting.
Trade is a central element in our efforts to boost the recovery.
And some of the most important tools in our toolbox are digital.
I know I don’t need to convince the participants in this GS1 Retail Plenary about that!
COVID has shown that digital technologies can be one of the key enablers for resilient growth.
Digital tools such as Global Data Standards and paperless trade can help us ensure that trade is efficient, secure – and most important of all, trusted.
Equally importantly, digital technologies can boost inclusion in trade, and help us find more sustainable ways of doing business.
So, it’s critical to create the right enabling environment for business to use digital tools, and for consumers to benefit from the improvements in efficiency and trust that digital offers.
Our work in ABAC has zeroed in on a number of the steps that we believe policymakers will need to take to realise the full potential of trade in this digital age.
One of the most important messages we conveyed to APEC Leaders last year was the importance of interoperability in digital trade.
The reality is that trade is increasingly digitalised, and we need to do what we can to enable a seamless regional trading system.
Around the region and around the world, we see a huge universe of different technologies and innovative digital products. This is not about favouring one over another. It’s about ensuring that systems and products can talk to each other, regardless of technology choice.
The leadership that ABAC and APEC can show in this area is likely to have a powerful effect. Last year the region accounted for 48 percent of global trade, and 62 percent of global GDP. It is critical we get this right.
One of our key recommendations last year was to urge Leaders to support the development of a regional implementation plan for Global Data Standards.
That recommendation builds on many years of advocacy from ABAC, working closely with GS1.
Our earlier collaboration championing Global Data Standards led to APEC economies agreeing to run a series of pilot programmes around the region. As a result of those pilots, APEC Leaders have recognised that Global Data Standards can improve supply chain performance. In 2020 APEC published a set of guidelines and best practices for wider adoption.
But more needs to be done. We need to accelerate those efforts and embrace a suite of new Global Data Standards that can be implemented as soon, and as widely, as possible.
ABAC is also advocating for a range of other outcomes on digital trade, including interoperable paperless trade systems, an enabling ecosystem for e-signatures, continued cooperation on data privacy and cybersecurity.
Trade in food is an issue very dear to my heart as a former CEO of a food and beverage company.
ABAC helped to drive some great outcomes in APEC’s new Food Security Roadmap.
First, we came up with the idea of developing a regional plan for a digitally-enabled food system. That is now underway.
As part of that exercise, we advocated for greater uptake of Global Data Standards for food, as well as other enabling digital technologies. We will continue to argue the case.
Looking ahead, this year the leadership of ABAC has passed from me to my colleague from Thailand, Supant Mongkolsuthree.
This important work continues under Khun Supant’s leadership.
Some of the areas that ABAC will focus on include those where identification and trust in trade are central.
My ABAC New Zealand colleague, Anna Curzon, will be leading work looking at digital identity, including for businesses, in the APEC region.
Her major focus will be on how to achieve greater adoption of digital identities, and more importantly, greater interoperability around the region.
Other colleagues will be looking at digital tools for trade facilitation, and interoperable data infrastructure, building on last year’s work on digital trade.
In closing, It is clear that the Asia-Pacific will remain a driving force in global trade and economic performance in 2022. But the downside risks remain – from supply chain disruption to pandemic waves to geopolitical churn.
We need to do all that we can to support consumer confidence and trust, alongside business resilience.
ABAC is convinced that digital is the key enabler for that important goal – and we value our strong partnership with GS1 in helping to put in place the right tools to get the job done.
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
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...
Global Industry Statement on the WTO Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions
NZIBF has joined 170 international business associations in calling for an extension to the current moratorium on tariffs applying to digital services (like Netflix) at the forthcoming WTO Ministerial meeting. The undersigned associations urge WTO members to support...
Resilient supply chains: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Published by the Hinrich Foundation, Singapore, 23 August 2024 By Stephen Jacobi History has much to teach us about the way trade contributes to prosperity through the movement of goods, services, people, and ideas. Today, data can be added to this web of...
SUBMISSION TO THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE
GENERAL REVIEW OF THE COMPREHENSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE AGREEMENT FOR TRANS- PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (CPTPP) DECEMBER 2023 Summary This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF). As individual NZIBF Members may make their own...
Todd McClay – your trade mission, should you choose to accept it …
As published by Newsroom 19 December 2023 By Stephen Jacobi “Twas the week before Christmas, When all through the house Not a creature was stirring, Except busy trade officials … ‘Tis the season to be “BiM-ing”* and the NZ International Business Forum has sent its...
2023 – Steps forward and back
Trade liberalisation moved forward and backward in 2023. Some notable gains have been achieved for New Zealand, but war, geo-political rivalry and global inflation continue to depress global markets. While the pandemic continued to lurk in the shadows, 2023 was the...
NZIBF releases Brief to the Incoming Minister of Trade
DECEMBER 2023...
NZIBF 2023 Chair Report
I am pleased to present my third report on the activities and achievements of the NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) for 2023-24, our sixteenth year of operations. I am grateful to all Members and to our executive team for your continuing support. As I...
Of APEC, CPTPP and IPEF
While New Zealand was sorting out its new Government, the alphabet soup which is trade got a good stirring in San Francisco. This was APEC Leaders’ week, the annual gathering of Leaders, Ministers, business people and other stakeholders from the 21 economies of...