Smith Talks Trade With US
International Trade"I had an excellent meeting today (May 22) with US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky," said International Trade Minister Lockwood Smith.
Dr Smith's comments came after a round of New Zealand-United States bilateral trade talks in Washington. His meeting with Ambassador Barshefsky and her senior staff followed an inter-agency meeting between US and NZ officials the day before.
"We discussed the possibility of pursuing a free trade agreement between the United States and New Zealand. Ambassador Barshefsky repeated her interest and briefed me on the necessary first step, that is the Administration's rquirement for fast track negotiating authority from Congress. We agreed to keep in close contact."
Dr Smith said that both Ambassador Barshefsky and he also took the opportunity to discuss a range of other trade issues.
"The meeting underscored the close partnerships we have with the United States across the trading front. We have similiar interests on a number of issues in the World Trade Organisation as well as APEC.
"The talks were substantive yet relaxed. We covered both agriculture and services as well as other matters. It is great to have a major economy like the United States sharing our strong position, for example, on the need for scientific justification for quarantine measures. This is one of the key issues in international trade today."
The talks between Dr Smith and Ambassador Barshefsky were held under the auspices of the NZ-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. This was Dr Smith's first official visit to Washington as International Trade Minister.