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Trade Minister Todd McClay has welcomed the entry into force of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) saying it is a big win for New Zealand exporters.

“The TFA will benefit all New Zealand exporters and is particularly good for small and medium sized enterprises. The TFA reduces the cost, administration and time burden associated with getting products across borders and into the marketplace,” Mr McClay says.

Trade Minister Todd McClay says he is extremely confident New Zealand has a strong case following Indonesia's decision to appeal a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in favour of New Zealand beef and horticulture exports and says he expects Indonesia to meet their WTO obligations following the appeal.

New Zealand and the United States brought a case against Indonesia disputing 18 agricultural non-tariff barriers. The WTO ruled in favour of NZ and the US on all 18 disputed point in December last year.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit Mexico today to meet his counterpart, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and discuss the future of trade between our two countries.

“Mexico is already our largest trading partner in Latin America, and there is huge scope to further advance our economies, boosting trade and investment, and working together more closely in the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr McClay says.

This will be the Government’s first formal contact with Mexico since the United States withdrawal from the TPP agreement.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit Japan and Singapore this week to discuss regional trade issues with his ministerial counterparts.

During his visit to Japan, which is the first stop, Mr McClay will meet with the Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Nobuteru Ishihara.

“Japan is New Zealand’s fifth largest two-way trading partner, a significant source of foreign investment, and a key international partner in our efforts to liberalise trade in the Asia-Pacific region,” Minister McClay says.

Trade Minister Todd McClay today welcomed the inaugural daily flight of Qatar Airways direct Auckland – Doha service at Auckland International Airport saying the world's longest flight was set to boost New Zealand trade and tourism.

“Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the air link will continue to gain importance when New Zealand concludes a Free Trade Agreement with the GCC,” Mr McClay says.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will travel to Sydney tomorrow to meet with his Australian counterpart, Trade and Investment Minister Steven Ciobo.

The Ministers will discuss bilateral and regional trade issues likely to be of significance for both countries in 2017.

Trade Minister Todd McClay has said that New Zealand’s ongoing and future trade relationship with the United Kingdom is in good shape following agreement on the next steps for the newly established NZ-UK Trade Policy Dialogue.

The progress was made during a meeting between Minister McClay and his UK counterpart, Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trade Minister Todd McClay has confirmed New Zealand and Sri Lanka will progress discussions on new trade and investment opportunities, which could include a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.

The announcement comes after a meeting between Mr McClay and Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to press for a conclusion to the free trade negotiations between New Zealand and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

During his visit to the Middle East, which begins tomorrow, Mr McClay will meet bilaterally with ministerial counterparts and business leaders, including the UAE Minister of Economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoor and Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce, Khalid Nasser Al Roudhan.

More local businesses looking to expand into Korea will benefit from the latest round of tariff reductions under the New Zealand-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Trade Minister Todd McClay says.

The start of 2017 saw two thirds of New Zealand’s exports to Korea become duty free, up from 46 per cent in 2016.

“Thanks to this continued progress under the FTA, even more New Zealand businesses can compete favourably in the Korean market,” Mr McClay says.