Hon Dr Lockwood Smith

National Party Foreign Affairs & Trade Spokesman

1 December 1004

Free trade deal good but misses Apec goals

National's Foreign Affairs & Trade spokesman, Lockwood Smith, has welcomed the New Zealand-Thailand Free Trade Agreement announced today.

"There will be a lot of positives to come out of it for New Zealand," he says.

"But it is worth noting that this is the first time New Zealand has entered into such an agreement that is clearly inconsistent with the Bogor goals of Apec for open trade with developed countries by 2010 and developing countries by 2020."

In 1994 the Apec leaders meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, resolved to achieve free and open trade in Asia-Pacific by no later than 2020.

"Up until now New Zealand has been one of the strongest supporters of those goals," says Dr Smith. "This is the first time that I know of that they are not going to be achieved in such an agreement."

ENDS

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