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New Zealand welcomes European lawmakers' backing for FTA negotiations

Xinhua, March 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The New Zealand government on Wednesday welcomed the European Parliament's support for talks to start on a free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and New Zealand.

"It is heartening that the resolution won the support of 479 Members of the European Parliament, 77 percent of the 619 who voted," Trade Minister Todd McClay said in a statement.

"The European Union is the notable missing link in our network of FTAs (free trade ageements) with our major trading partners and it is a big missing link, with total GDP of more than 20 trillion NZ dollars (13.27 trillion U.S. dollars)."

The EU was one of New Zealand's most significant trading partners with two-way goods and services trade valued at 19.6 billion NZ dollars (13 billion U.S. dollars).

"Foreign direct investment and research and development are also important. The EU is our second-largest source and third-largest destination for foreign direct investment and is our largest research and development partner," said McClay.

"The importance of completing an FTA with the EU cannot be understated. It has progressively expanded its own FTA network and our exporters have become increasingly disadvantaged - for example, manufactured products face tariffs of up to 39 percent," he said.

"And our agricultural exporters face average tariff rates into the EU of 31.3 percent. Competitors from countries like Chile, Singapore, South Africa, Argentina, Vietnam and (the Republic of) Korea enter the EU tariff-free."

New Zealand is one of only six World Trade Organization members without an EU FTA in place or under negotiation.

Negotiations are expected to begin early next year, according to New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Endit