- Negotiations
New Zealand is a party to a number of completed free trade and investment agreements. These are: the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement (1983); the New Zealand-Singapore Closer Economic Partnership (2001); the New Zealand-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership (2005); the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership or P4 (2005); the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement (2008), the Australia-ASEAN-New Zealand free trade agreement (2009), the New Zealand-Malaysia FTA (2009),an FTA with the GCC, (2009) and the New Zealand-Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership (2010).
A New Zealand-India deal has been mooted. New Zealand’s government has indicated that it wants FTAs with Korea and Taiwan
While talk of a US-New Zealand FTA was hotly resisted and never got off the ground, partly because of New Zealand’s anti-nuclear policy, the expansion of what was initially called the P4 agreement to include the US (the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement) threatens to bring important changes to New Zealand policies.
New Zealand has also signed a number of IPPAs (bilateral investment treaties) with Chile, Argentina, Hong Kong, China and others.
last update: May 2012
Photo: NZ Free Trade Watch / Facebook
26-May-2009
Scoop
Two hoary old myths are peddled as a means to get NZ out of its particular corner of the global economic crisis — that the economy needs to be opened up even more to foreign investors, by means of liberalising, yet again, the Overseas Investment Act; and that a Free Trade Agreement with the US is the Holy Grail of the numerous trade deals that the Government is currently pursuing. The Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) says “no” to both and we are not alone.
19-May-2009
Voxy
New Zealand and the European Union are exploring the benefits of a comprehensive bilateral agreement covering political, security and economic areas, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said today.
6-May-2009
New Zealand Herald
Trade talks with Hong Kong resume in Wellington this week and Trade Minister Tim Groser says he’s hoping for positive steps forward.
9-Apr-2009
A Trans-Pacific trade deal opening the door to freer trade with the United States is in the balance after top-level meetings in Washington.
6-Mar-2009
Radio New Zealand
Meat & Wool New Zealand describes the prospect of a free trade agreement between New Zealand and South Korea as a "big deal" for domestic beef producers.
3-Mar-2009
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak put on an impressive show in Auckland yesterday as he talked tough about the necessity for world leaders not to fall prey to anti-protectionist forces.
23-Feb-2009
NBR
NZ trade minister Tim Groser and his Indian counterpart Kamal Nath announced on Saturday that our respective governments are to negotiate a free trade agreement, with negotiations due to begin later this year.
5-Feb-2009
NZ Herald
South Korean companies are eyeing the investment potential of prime New Zealand resources as both countries prepare to start bilateral free trade negotiations.
23-Jan-2009
NBR
Free trade will be on the table when South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan meets his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully this weekend. The men would consider a timeframe for starting negotiations towards a free trade agreement during talks on Sunday.
11-Nov-2008
The alarm clock squawks you awake and you reach for your asthma inhaler to start the day. Damn, nearly empty. That’s another whack off the weekly budget. Drugs have got so much more expensive since the 2011 free trade deal forced changes to Pharmac’s bargain basement pricing scheme.
Links
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Government of NZ’ page on FTAs
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Māori collective that aims to advance and protect Māori interests in the trade space.
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The OUR WORLD IS NOT FOR SALE campaign was formed around building the protests at the September 2007 US-NZ Partnership Forum, the global justice campaign aims to build public support and organisation against the signing of any form of free trade agreement between the United States and New Zealand.