Prime Minister John Key, speaking at the Federated Farmers national annual meeting in Wellington yesterday, concluded with an update on NZ free trade talks.Overall, Mr Key felt that NZ is making good progress compared to other countries.
Prime Minister John Key, speaking at the Federated Farmers national annual meeting in Wellington yesterday, concluded with an update on NZ free trade talks.
Overall, Mr Key felt that NZ is making good progress compared to other countries.
On the recent agreement to begin free trade negotiations with Russia: “day one, not probably the most significant thing, but roll the clock forward it will be.”
In addition to working to advance the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Mr Key will visit India next year in part to advance bi-lateral trade talks.
Negotiations with South Korea – one of New Zealand’s largest beef markets but with tariffs on NZ beef historically as high as 40% - are proving “challenging”.
Mr Key said that he was a "bit worried" about the break-down of US-Korea FTA negotiations in Seoul last week.
“I asked [US President Barack] Obama about it. He said, look, the politics is really challenging for the Koreans, they had a million farmers turn out campaigning against it.”
“What worries me is that we’re really in the queue after the US and European FTAs, and that’s a big market for us,” he said.
“If it’s bad news for the US, I don’t think it’s good news for us.”
While bi-lateral agreements are important, Mr Key indicated that the Doha round of World Trade Organisation negotiations is the most crucial opportunity for NZ.
“Only Doha can multi-laterally agree a reduction in farm subsidies in the European Union, Japan and the US,” he told the gathered farmers - and this, like the negotiations with Korea, is proving a difficult task.
