ExportNZ welcomes upgrade of China-NZ FTA

ExportNZ welcomes upgrade of China-NZ FTA

ExportNZ says today’s announcement by the Prime Minister and his Chinese counterpart to upgrade the China - New Zealand FTA is good news.

"The FTA with China has been hugely successful and has contributed greatly to the massive expansion in trade between China and New Zealand since it came into force in 2008," says Catherine Beard, ExportNZ Executive Director.

"The FTA is a good one, but since it was negotiated, China and New Zealand have negotiated other agreements. The negotiation on the upgrade offers the opportunity to ensure that the China - New Zealand FTA remains as up-to-date as possible and remains one of the highest standard FTAs ever negotiated.

"While the existing FTA has largely removed tariff barriers between China and New Zealand, areas that could be improved include dairy volumes, chilled meat exports, processed wood products and SPS agreements for horticultural access. The other focus is a number of technical barriers and trade and services barriers that still cause difficulties for New Zealand exporters. Likewise, since the original FTA was signed, e-commerce has grown in importance for bilateral trade. It is important that the regulations around e-commerce facilitate the expansion of this trade.

"Export NZ congratulates the Prime Minister and Trade Minister Todd McClay for the announcement of this important achievement. We look forward to working closely with Ministers and officials in the development of New Zealand’s negotiating position."

ENDS

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