Foreign policy deception is exposed

"The Government's official optimism over trade negotiations with the US has turned out to be an elaborate deception on New Zealand exporters," says National Party Leader Bill English.

The US Ambassador has formally revealed that 'the United States Government is not prepared to schedule bilateral trade negotiations at this time'

"The Government must have known this was the official position of the US Administration," Mr English says.

"Surely Labour cannot be so incompetent on trade policy that this is the first they have heard of it

"Just yesterday Helen Clark said New Zealand's sometimes rocky relationship with the United States was now in 'pretty good shape'. "But she neglected to advise the New Zealand public that trade negotiations were officially dead," Mr English says.

"It's getting harder and harder to trust the words of a Government that has hidden the failure of its foreign policy from New Zealanders.

"This Government now has a history of acting in its own short term political interests, rather than the national interest.

"Clearly it's in New Zealand's national interests to secure the best trade opportunities for our exporters.

"By that measure Helen Clark has failed and left it to the US ambassador to tell the nation," says Mr English.

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