NZ to get a slice of EU trade thanks to new agreement

On 9 July 2023 New Zealand and the European Union (EU) signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in Brussels. However, Australia is still in drawn-out negotiations due to the EU wanting Australian manufacturers to stop using the names associated with around 150 geographical indications (GI), including wine and food products such as feta, gruyere, prosecco, etc.

The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, said that Australia wanted an FTA that had mutual benefit for both Australia and the EU so the agreement wasn’t signed while he was in Germany. “We’re confident that we’ll be able to get there, but we won’t sign up to a deal that’s not in Australia’s interests,” he said.

New Zealand has signed its NZ-EU FTA, which is expected to come into force by the first half of 2024. After all the legalities are finalised, the EU will then become NZ’s fourth-largest trading partner and NZ is set to gain up to $1.8 billion in exports to the EU, per year, with duties removed on 91% of NZ’s goods exports to the EU, rising to 97% after seven years. Tariffs will be removed from products like kiwifruit, Mānuka honey, fish and seafood, onions, wine and industrial products.

New Zealand’s dairy and red meat sectors will gain sizable new opportunities to the value of $600 million which, if filled, for products such as butter and cheese, will see trade able to flow more freely for the first time in many years. Access for beef increases eight-fold, while sheep meat could account for up to 96% of EU imports. This is under New Zealand’s new FTA quota access combined with existing WTO quotas.

Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor said, “New Zealand producers are some of the most sustainable in the world and these credentials resonate well with EU consumers. New Zealand and the EU share similar values and a commitment to high labour, environment and animal welfare standards.

“The NZ-EU FTA includes ambitious sustainable trade outcomes in a range of areas, including climate change, labour rights, women’s economic empowerment, environmentally harmful fisheries and fossil fuel subsidies.

“We’ve got to keep on our path to lower emissions if we want high-quality trade deals that benefit our economy,” Damien O’Connor said.

The FTA contains another important ‘EU first’ that New Zealand worked hard to secure — a Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation chapter that will create a platform for greater engagement with the EU on Māori economic and trade interests.

New Zealand consumers and businesses will also benefit as EU tariffs will be eliminated on a range of goods, including footwear, apparel, cosmetics, furniture, chocolate, kitchen appliances, machinery, motor homes, forklifts and some agricultural goods.

Australian officials are planning to meet with the EU again in August.

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