6 July 2004

Japan's move towards best practice welcome

New Zealand encourages Japan's administration to implement a proposal that it move towards standard international practice on plant protection, Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said today.

Mr Sutton said Japan had made a significant announcement at a recent WTO sanitary and phytosanitary committee meeting, advising that its plant protection review has recommended Japan move towards international practice.

"New Zealand welcomed this development. We have pressed Japan over a long period to comply with its international phytosanitary obligations. Japan also indicated that it would apply plant quarantine measures proportionate to the risk in a timely and flexible manner.

"Japan's excessive fumigation requirements affect the eating quality and shelf life of our fresh produce exports (over $5 million of direct and indirect costs) and impose opportunity costs on our organic producers ($2million-$3 million)."

However, Mr Sutton said difficult negotiations probably remained ahead.

"There is some suggestion that Japan may actually drop the fumigation requirement on as few as four of the many pests New Zealand has requested be considered on a priority basis."

He said New Zealand would continue to encourage Japan to move to adopt international practice.

"Only when the rules governing the trade in animal and plant products are based on sound science, will international trade rules be fair to producers and consumers alike."

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>