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Trade Minister Tim Groser and Primary Industries Nathan Guy say that officials are working closely with Russian authorities to provide the reassurance they need over New Zealand dairy products.

“Russia has formally notified New Zealand of a temporary restriction of dairy imports from 61 of the 83 dairy plants approved for export to Russia,” says Mr Groser.

Trade Minister Tim Groser and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have underlined the continued efforts of the New Zealand Government to deal with the market effects of the possible contamination of some Fonterra dairy exports.

“The safety of consumers, especially children, both in New Zealand and in our trading partners remains our number one priority,” says Mr Groser.

Mr Groser says the New Zealand Government is taking a very precautionary approach.  

Trade Minister Tim Groser has today confirmed New Zealand is working closely with our trading partners to keep them informed of the potential contamination of some products, including follow-on infant formula, made from whey protein concentrate contaminated with the bacteria that causes botulism.

“As soon as New Zealand authorities were notified of this risk, we immediately acted to inform relevant authorities around the world,” says Mr Groser.

Climate Change Minister Tim Groser today welcomed the report by the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor Sir Peter Gluckman, New Zealand’s Changing Oceans and Climate: the impact of human activity and implications for the future.

The report provides a useful overview of current scientific understanding of climate change. It endorses global consensus that greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change.

Trade Minister Tim Groser welcomed today the signature by the directors of the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office, and the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office, of an Economic Cooperation Agreement.

The Agreement between New Zealand and the separate Customs Territory of Taipei, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) will further cement the strong cooperation on economic and trade matters between the two economies.

Minister of Trade and for Climate Change Issues Tim Groser will depart tomorrow for Washington to meet his new US counterpart, United States Trade Representative, Mike Froman.

In Washington Mr Groser will also hold discussions with key stakeholders in the Trans-Pacific Partnership including Members of Congress and industry.

I returned recently from representing New Zealand at the Summit of the ‘Pacific Alliance’ in Colombia. We are now an official observer of the Pacific Alliance – along with Australia, Canada (Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister, was also present in Colombia) and a handful of other countries.

Trade Minister Tim Groser and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today announced the appointment of Mike Petersen to the position of New Zealand Special Agriculture Trade Envoy (SATE).

The role is to advocate for New Zealand’s agriculture trade interests, from the perspective of a practising farmer.

“In the immediate term, Petersen’s priority will be to coordinate support among international farmer groups for a comprehensive outcome on agriculture in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations,” says Mr Groser.

Trade Minister Tim Groser has announced that the third CER-ASEAN Integration Partnership Forum will take place in Cairns, Australia, on 18 June.

The annual Integration Partnership Forum is aimed at sharing the lessons from the Closer Economic Relations Agreement (CER) between New Zealand and Australia with the wider ASEAN membership.

This arresting phrase – ‘Agriculture: New Zealand’s Silicon Valley’ – is not mine. It is Sir Graeme Harrison’s and I can’t improve on it. Sir Graeme, you will recall, is the founder and Chairman of ANZCO Foods, one of New Zealand’s largest exporters.

I like the phrase for three complementary reasons:

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser today announced the appointment of Jennifer Kerr to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Board.

Ms Kerr has been appointed for a three-year term from June 2013.

Ms Kerr was formerly Group Director Human Resources at Fonterra and has worked in human resources in the oil industry in the United States and Europe and the leisure industry in the United Kingdom.

Je souhaiterais tout d’abord vous remercier vivement pour l’opportunité de m’adresser à vous. En guise d’introduction, je dirais que nous nous trouvons à un tournant particulièrement intéressant dans l’évolution du système commercial international. Littéralement parlant, il n’y a rien que nous puissions décrire comme neuf dans le système actuel.

Trade Minister Tim Groser will represent New Zealand at the OECD’s annual Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) and Forum in Paris from 27 to 30 May. 

“The theme for this year’s meeting is ‘It’s all about people: Jobs, Equality and Trust’,” says Mr Groser. 

Trade Minister Tim Groser will attend the Pacific Alliance Ministerial Meeting and Head of State Summit in Cali, Colombia on 22 and 23 May.

“This is the first meeting New Zealand has attended since being granted observer status to the fast-growing Latin America economic bloc known as the Pacific Alliance, which includes Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru,” says Mr Groser.

“As an observer, New Zealand will be better placed to build on our existing relationships, and to share experiences and learning on integration within the Asia-Pacific region.

Trade Minister Tim Groser will travel to Washington tomorrow for the fifth US-NZ Partnership Forum next week.

“The US-NZ Partnership Forum provides the opportunity to further the relationship between New Zealand and the US and to expose New Zealand businesses to US Government contacts,” Mr Groser says.

“My visit is also an opportunity to continue our Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) discussions with the US.”

Trade Minister Tim Groser today congratulated Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo on his appointment by consensus as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“As one of the nine candidates nominated for the position of Director General, I was gratified by the fair hearing I received from WTO members. The campaign provided a unique opportunity to talk with members and groupings in the WTO and to hear their views on the Doha process.

New Zealand is the formal administrator, or legal ‘Depositary’ of the TPP Agreement. This reflects the real negotiating history of TPP, which started as a strategic decision by Singapore and NZ to negotiate a bilateral FTA in the 1990s with precisely this concept – a wider Asia Pacific FTA - in mind. That led eventually to P4 and, in turn, to TPP today.

Trade Minister Tim Groser is pleased to make the following statement on behalf of the eleven members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States of America and Viet Nam today welcomed Japan as a new participant in negotiations to conclude a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Trade Minister Tim Groser today confirmed that New Zealand had completed its bilateral consultations with Japan on joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

Trade Minister Tim Groser will tomorrow travel to Surabaya, Indonesia to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade.

The meeting will be hosted by Indonesia on 20-21 April and the focus will be on ‘A Resilient Asia-Pacific, Engine of Global Growth’.

Climate Change Minister Tim Groser today welcomed New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Net Position which show we are on track to meet our Kyoto commitments.

The Greenhouse Gas Inventory provides a historical snapshot of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, while the Net Position forecasts by how much New Zealand’s emissions will be above or below our Kyoto Protocol target.

“Caribbean countries face great challenges as they seek to access international markets for their export industries.   The WTO must do more to assist them to access the benefits of the multilateral trading system,” Mr Groser says.

Let me start with a statement of principle. It’s about the relatively open trade and payments system that we have inherited. It has flaws and shortcomings. There are many vulnerable developing countries at early stages of development that have yet to enjoy its real benefits. For all that, this relatively open system has served three generations of our predecessors well.

“Making sure the World Trade Organisation's rules and commitments work for the benefit of all developing countries will be one of the key challenges for the next Director-General,” says Trade Minister Tim Groser at the end of a visit to Africa.

Mr Groser was speaking from Nigeria on a five-day visit to Africa to discuss his candidature for Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).