India agrees to start talks on FTA with New Zealand
Trade Minister Tim Groser and Indian Commerce Minister, Sri Anand Sharma have announced the start of negotiations toward a free trade agreement between New Zealand and India.
Mr Groser, attending a meeting of WTO trade ministers in Davos, Switzerland alongside Mr Sharma, welcomed the Indian government’s confirmation that it will open negotiations with New Zealand.
“A free trade agreement with India offers great promise for New Zealand businesses. India is already one of our fastest growing markets, with New Zealand exports having tripled over the last decade,” Mr Groser said..
“Our negotiators will target the currently high barriers facing New Zealand exporters to India so that trade can further flourish"
Mr Groser said the Indian economy was forecast to expand almost 8% in 2010.
“India has a population of over one billion people. By 2025, India will almost certainly be the third largest economy in the world.”
The NZ cabinet approved the start of negotiations in March last year and the relevant Indian cabinet committee last week approved the proposal – a decision delayed until now by India’s mid-year election in 2009.
“I expect negotiations to start soon and am confident we can deliver a high quality agreement with significant benefits to New Zealand exporters,” Mr Groser said.
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Comments and questions2
What has been the out come from information given to Jim Anderton, the then minister in charge of M.A.F.
A basic summery of the information goes like this :- India exports cut flowers to New Zealand. New Zealand requires that all the flowers go through a methyl bromide fumigation in order to kill pests and disease. M.A.F. informs Indian growers the date and time that they will be testing to see if flowers have been fumigated and ask Indian grows produce one box of cut flowers to 'prove' fumigation. The rest is sent with very little or no fumigation at all. Has this been tided up before a free trade deal? Im no foe of India, I love the people and country, have spent a good amount of time there, so I know how bureaucratic and corrupt the place is.
In summery is New Zealand's border control capable of handling an increase in volume and are they able to do it properly? The money gained from exporting could all be lost too dealing with new pests and diseases getting through an inefficient border control system, especially with the latest front line staff cuts.
The MAFBNZ importation process differs from that described by Brian – 1 February 2010.
All imported cut flowers are inspected on arrival – this occurs even when the documentation from India complies with MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) requirements.
A statistically based sample is used to randomly select cartons from the imported consignment for inspection. The sampling and the inspection is done solely by MAFBNZ inspectors inside an approved inspection facility. The Indian grower or New Zealand importer has no input into which samples are selected.
Any non-compliant consignment, depending on the risk profile of the pest, is treated, destroyed or reshipped at the border at importers cost. Subsequently information regarding the non-compliance is fed back to the Indian government for remedial action. This will include a list of any regulated organisms found and request for India’s national plant protection organisation response to the interceptions; to date we have not had to do this in relation to cut flower imports from India.
MAFBNZ has a range of interventions including treatment, verification inspections, surveys and audits so we are able to detect patterns and build confidence in the system. Using these tools MAFBNZ staff will continue to scan supply chains for changes, identify pests, communicate with stakeholders, enforce compliance, and develop co-management arrangements and the accreditation of offshore systems.
ENDS
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