European Parliament supports start to FTA

Trade Minister Todd McClay has welcomed the support of the European Parliament to commence negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand.

“It is heartening that the resolution won the support of 479 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), 77 per cent of the 619 who voted,” says Mr McClay.

“The European Union (EU) is the notable missing link in our network of FTAs with our major trading partners and it is a big missing link, with total GDP of more than NZ$20 trillion.

“The EU is also one of New Zealand’s most significant trading partners with current goods and services trade valued at NZ$19.6 billion.

“Foreign Direct Investment and Research and Development are also important. The EU is our second-largest source and third largest destination for foreign direct investment and is our largest research and development partner.

“The importance of completing an FTA with the EU cannot be understated. It has progressively expanded its own FTA network and our exporters have become increasingly disadvantaged - for example, manufactured products face tariffs of up to 39 per cent.

“And our agricultural exporters face average tariff rates into the EU of 31.3 per cent. Competitors from countries like Chile, Singapore, South Africa, Argentina, Viet Nam and Korea enter the EU tariff-free. 

“I look forward to the commencement of negotiations and congratulate the European Parliament on this resolution,” says Mr McClay.