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New Zealand Trade Minister to raise TPP with Asia-Pacific counterparts

Xinhua, November 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay will be flying for open markets and the seemingly doomed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal at APEC talks in Peru this week.

McClay said Wednesday he would attend the annual APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting in Lima where he expected to hold talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and the TPP.

"The Asia-Pacific region remains a top trade focus for New Zealand. At this time it is important New Zealand continues to show leadership in defense of open markets and fair trade access," said McClay.

"This year's meeting is an opportunity to discuss new ways to boost economic growth by increasing competitiveness and removing trade barriers for services," he said in a statement.

Trade and foreign ministers from 20 other APEC economies, accounting for half of global trade and 60 percent of world gross domestic product, would also discuss APEC's proposed FTAAP, policies to support the future skilled workforce, and how to enhance the regional food market.

In the margins of the APEC meeting, McClay would meet with some counterparts to discuss wider trade issues, including the 16-nation RCEP and the 12-nation TPP.

The APEC Ministerial Meeting comes ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting on Nov. 19 and 20, which Prime Minister John Key will attend.

APEC brings together all the major economies in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

On Tuesday the New Zealand government passed a Bill to align the country's laws with the TPP -- despite the widespread view that the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President has practically killed controversial trade deal.

McClay said the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Amendment Bill was signal of New Zealand's commitment to continued trade liberalization.

"Whilst acknowledging that there remain obstacles to the agreement coming into force, we need to take time to allow the new U.S. administration time to fully consider its trade agenda," he said in a statement.

Last week Prime Minister John Key conceded the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal was dead "in the short term" with the election of Trump.

The President-elect has pledged to scrap some multinational trade deals, and branded the 12-nation TPP, which was signed in New Zealand this year, as a "rape" to the United States. Endit