THE Pacific Islands Trade & Investment (PTI) agency successfully met with exporters in Honiara in a bid to open up the New Zealand market to Solomon Islanders.

Twenty attendants from 15 export companies went through a day-long programme with PT&I that is spearheaded by the PT&I (NZ) Auckland branch with support from the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI).

Ian Furlong, the trade development manager of PT&I (NZ) described the training a big success and one that has attracted very keen interest compared with the programme in other Pacific countries.

It is the first time for PT&I to engage the Solomon Islands in this programme and is among 10 Pacific island countries to undergo the training this year.

The PT&I team will travel to Port Vila, Vanuatu next.

“There was good attendance and the people were good. Our objective is to help exporters in their business and the training on Thursday was very positive,” said Furlong.

Furlong conducted the training with PT&I COO & Head of Investment, Manuel Valdez.

Participants were briefed on the New Zealand market, the requirements and finances needed as well as selling and buying options.

The programme also equipped participants on effective business planning methods and marketing skills needed.

“At present most (Solomon Islanders) aren’t exporting to the New Zealand market and part of this programme is to encourage this market.

“New Zealand is an ideal market for entrepreneurs in the Solomon Islands and from the training we’ve found that the participants are very interested and want to know more.”

Thursday’s training, however is just the first phase of six steps of the programme.PT&I NZ trade development manager Ian Furlong leading the NZ export programme

PT&I NZ trade development manager Ian Furlong leading the NZ export programme

Some five or six companies of the 15 who attended will be selected to join a sales mission to New Zealand next year. From there the attending companies will learn more of the mission and will get the opportunity to meet buyers where they can build their own relationship.

The programme runs through a timeline until March 2017.

SICCI Business Analyst Charles Persson who joined the programme on Thursday described it as highly professional with a great two-way interaction making attendees think creatively about their products.

“This programme provides excellence skills and networks for businesses to grow and access new markets.”

SICCI acknowledges the importance of exports to the Solomon Islands economy and looks forward to the next stage.

Tehran, Dec 4, IRNA – New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said on Sunday that Wellington government is willing to draw up a roadmap for economic cooperation with Iran and set up a joint committee to promote trade ties.He made the proposal in a meeting with Iran's Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh in Tehran.

He called for cooperation on research, development and innovation.

Stressing the need for compiling a roadmap for strengthening industrial and trade relations, he said that New Zealand banking and insurance experts are currently on a visit to Iran to help resolve problems facing these sectors.

McClay voiced Wellington's interest to boost ties with Iran, saying that New Zealand boasts of suitable capacities in the refining and dairy industries.

Ne'matzadeh, for his part, said that Iran-New Zealand ties have always been excellent, noting that however proper plans should be made to help raise level of exchanges.

Stressing the need for removal of banking obstacles and strengthening ties between the two countries' banks, he said that bilateral and multilateral talks between the Iranian and New Zealand banks would be useful to regulate the banking and commercial relations.

Nematzadeh said that Iran possesses remarkable capabilities in the oil and petrochemical, agricultural products, communications, plastic and tool manufacturing sectors, and is ready for promoting ties with New Zealand in the spheres.

He declared Iran's willingness for joint investment ventures on implementing projects and transfer of technology know-how, saying that Iran's situation in the region has prepared a suitable ground for using neighboring states' markets of 400-million.

That's for the same reason most of the countries favor boosting ties with Iran, Nematzadeh said.

McClay arrived in Tehran on December 2 at the head of high-ranking trade delegation comprising representatives of 18 companies.

Upon arrival in Tehran, he described Iran as a traditional partner of New Zealand, saying that the two countries' commercial exchanges are projected to reach 708.8 million dollars a year.

The New Zealand minister said in a meeting with Governor of Central Bank of Iran Valliollah Seif that his country has the most commercial exchanges with Iran in the Middle East.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh suggested Vietnam and New Zealand strengthen their economic and trade ties in order to reach the bilateral trade target of US$1.7 billion in 2020 set by their senior leaders.vietnam new zealand look to stronger economic tiesDeputy PM Pham Binh Minh (left) meets with Speaker of New Zealand’s House of Representatives David Carter (Photo: VNA)

The official made the proposal during his meetings with Speaker of New Zealand’s House of Representatives David Carter and Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Bill English in Wellington on December 1.

He called on the two countries to increase connectivity and cooperation between their businesses while seeking collaboration in new areas like banking, services and renewable energy, especially wind power which is a field where New Zealand is strong.

Minh spoke highly of New Zealand’s economic achievements, which, he said, have helped the country to become one of the ten economies in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with the fastest and most stable economic growth rate.

At the meetings, the two sides noted with pleasure the strong development of the Vietnam–New Zealand relationship, especially since the two countries established a comprehensive partnership in 2009 and issued a joint statement in March 2015, under which they agreed to enhance the comprehensive partnership to make it a strategic partnership.

The regular exchange of high-ranking delegations, particularly in 2015, which marked the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties (1975-1945), has helped to intensify mutual understanding between Vietnam and New Zealand, they said.

Two-way trade expanded by 20% annually over the past five years and exceeded US$800 million in 2015, the officials stressed, commenting on the effective and pragmatic bilateral collaboration in national defence and security, agriculture, labour, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

The New Zealand side promised to join hands with Vietnam in speeding up the assessment of risks to Vietnamese agricultural products, thereby facilitating their penetration into the New Zealand market.

Talking about the latest developments relating to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, to which Vietnam and New Zealand are signatories, they described free trade and integration as an irreversible trend.

The two sides pledged to continue their coordination and mutual support at regional and international forums of which they are members, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The New Zealand side affirmed its backing for Vietnam as the host of the APEC Year in 2017.

Carter said Vietnam was one a priority partner with which New Zealand established a comprehensive partnership early on.

While expressing his delight at the thriving legislative ties and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, the speaker said the two sides should maintain the direct air route between Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and the city of Auckland in New Zealand in a bid to boost trade, tourism and delegation exchanges.

For his part, Bill English noted that he highly valued Vietnam’s encouraging achievements in economic restructuring and growth model reform, saying New Zealand wants to cooperate with Vietnam in economics, finance, banking and State-owned enterprise restructuring.

New Zealand will continue to support Vietnam’s development by providing official development assistance (ODA) to the country, he said.

Later the same day, Deputy PM and FM Minh visited the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand.

New Zealand was once Britain’s Farm on the other side of the world. In the 1950s the UK bought almost all of New Zealand’s agricultural exports. Somewhat ironically, it was our decision to enter the European Economic Community (EEC) in the 1973 that forced New Zealand to embrace free trade, opening up to other export markets and developing other products. While the country initially experienced a difficult transition period, New Zealand slowly transformed itself from one of the most regulated and protected economies in the world into one of the most market-orientated.

New Zealand’s experience in redesigning its trade strategy after splitting with a close trading partner is particularly instructive for the UK after Brexit. Policy Exchange was therefore delighted to host the New Zealand Minister of Trade, the Hon Todd McClay MP, who provided some timely advice on how the UK might navigate its new trading relationships with the rest of the world. A number of interesting points were brought out in the discussion.

First, while free trade is important for all nations it is significantly important for small countries. New Zealand depends on fair access to foreign markets to maintain domestic living standards. The country has a very small internal market with a population of only 4.7 million (roughly half the size of Greater London). However, it produces enough food for 40 million people. The UK is a much larger country than New Zealand but it is still a small country by international standards. Further trade liberalisation after Brexit will provide UK exporters with significant opportunities to sell their products in larger foreign markets.

Second, the New Zealand experience shows that trade liberalisation can help to cultivate new export industries. Mr McClay highlighted the fact that New Zealand now exports much more wine than it did thirty years ago, with exports rising from NZ$18 million in 1990 to $NZ1.5 billion by 2015. This is partly because the removal of external tariffs on foreign wines, particularly from Australia, encouraged producers to look to external markets to remain profitable. The success of New Zealand exports is all the more surprising given that its major competitive advantage is in agriculture, which is a sector that many countries want to protect from foreign competition.

Third, the Minister spoke extensively about the importance of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) for boosting trade activity. Around 52% of New Zealand’s exports are currently covered by FTAs, rising to 90% if current and prospective negotiations are successfully completed. The Minister emphasised the importance of agreeing high-quality trade deals that tackle behind border, non-tariff barriers and create a level playing field between domestic and foreign firms. Mr McClay argued that the UK should make sure that the first FTA it agrees is of high quality because it will probably act as a benchmark for future negotiations with other countries.

Some economists have argued that Britain should pursue unilateral free trade after Brexit rather than entering bilateral FTAs. The argument is that FTAs divert trade from the most efficient producer and therefore increase consumer prices. However, the New Zealand experience shows the importance of FTAs for stimulating trade activity, highlighting the fact that Germany (which doesn’t have an FTA with China) finds it much more difficult than New Zealand to export certain goods to the country. Moreover, New Zealand was the first OECD nation to negotiate a trade deal with China. Two way trade in services between the countries has gone up by almost 300% since it was signed in 2008, which demonstrates the huge potential advantages for an independent UK in agreeing bilateral FTAs.

Finally, the Minister commented on the role of public opinion in agreeing trade deals. Mr McClay argued that the internet has enabled people to more easily mobilise against certain elements of a trade deal. For example, around 10,000 New Zealanders originally protested against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which envisages an FTA between the 12 Pacific Rim countries. Consultation is therefore more important than ever. The Trade Minister explained how he had recently completed 50 public events around the country to convince voters of the merits of TPP. Mr McClay also argued that promoting the views of workers whose livelihoods depend on expanding export markets was also a good way of getting public buy-in. For the UK Government, securing public support for new trade agreements will clearly be a crucial part of any successful trade strategy.

Overall the New Zealand experience is instructive for the UK and demonstrates how the prosperity of a nation can be transformed through ambitious trade liberalisation measures.

A full copy of the speech can be found here. A vote of thanks was given by Lord Hill of Oareford, the former European Commissioner for Financial Stability.

The New Zealand economy is doing extremely well, because of trade liberalisation, not in spite of it. We are one of the most open economies in the world.

Our economic performance is the envy of many countries, certainly our closest neighbour and largest trading partner Australia and many EU member states.

GDP growth this year was 3.6 per cent and is forecast to remain between 3 and 3.5 per cent for a number of years to come.

Unemployment has fallen to 4.9 per cent with labour force participation rates the highest they have been since records were first kept.

Debt-to-GDP is around 24 per cent and on target to fall below 20 per cent by 2020

We are back in surplus, for a second year and forecast to grow.

The World Bank has judged us easiest place to do business, and we have the 2nd most competitive tax system.

We rank in top five for peaceful countries, most democratic, lack of corruption and economic freedom.

Oh and our rugby team is doing OK.

In trade we have also seen strong growth and performance.

Two-way trade with China has gone from $4 billion to around $20 billion since our FTA was signed eight years ago.

FTAs with Taiwan and Korea have seen huge growth.

Trade in goods is up, as is trade in services.

Tourism numbers and spend have grown significantly. We now receive more than three million international visitors, and their spend is up 18 per cent on last year’s with international tourism now rivalling dairy exports.

FDI is performing well.

We have an economy that looks for opportunity and is based on innovation.

New Zealanders as with Brits benefited when barriers come down and from an environment where businesses are left to do what they do best – run their businesses, create jobs, and grow the economy.

When it comes to trade negotiation and trade liberalisation, New Zealand’s achievements offer some valuable examples on how to get it right for a country contemplating its place in a post-Brexit world.

When advocating for the opportunities presented by trade liberalisation New Zealand continues to show leadership internationally. We look forward to the UK’s loud clear voice in this space.

Today I want to talk about trade and New Zealand priorities for the next few year.

While Brexit has preoccupied minds both in Westminster and across the UK, a much bigger global phenomenon of recent years has been the erosion of support for the benefits of trade liberalisation.

This has been evident in developments across the developed world, including opposition to mega-regional trade deals (TPP and TTIP); most recently highlighted in the electoral campaign which delivered Donald Trump the White House, but saw candidates across the political spectrum opposed to regional trade deals.

New Zealand remains a firm advocate of free trade - our prosperity depends on it - and we are pleased to see the ambition of Theresa May’s Government – in the face of increased anti-trade sentiment around the world – to become a global leader in free trade. If you wish to grow an economy, trade is a necessary way forward, in our view.

My speech will cover three areas that may be relevant to a trade policy audience in the UK: New Zealand’s trade policy focus in the 21st Century; New Zealand’s trade focus in Europe and the UK; and the changing nature of trade negotiation – at least how we must talk about it to ensure the benefits of free trade are better understood.

The world is not the same as it was in 1993 when New Zealand first defined this strategy based around a four track framework of unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives. Changes in the global environment, changes in the very way business is conducted, as well as our own successes under that existing trade strategy, have all been significant.

We need to continue to create opportunity and increase international connections, especially for New Zealand businesses – large and small. We need to use strategy to reduce the enduring challenges that New Zealand faces.

The biggest is geography. We’re a long way from some of our key markets – none more so than the UK, our fifth largest trading partner.

The second is scale. Unlike the UK, we have a small domestic market. My Prime Minister is fond of saying “we won’t get rich selling to ourselves.” Certainly this is true, considering our national population is about half the size of London’s.

The third is the fact that our major comparative advantage is in products that many of our trading partners want to protect from competition.

If our trade policy strategy can address those objectives it will help make the New Zealand economy more resilient, and in turn help to lift growth and raise living standards for all New Zealanders. I will come back to this last point shortly.

So what does the future hold for New Zealand’s trade in the 21st Century?

The first shift will be the balance between negotiation of further agreements and making the most of those we already have. New Zealand has secured FTAs with markets covering 52 per cent of our exports. This would rise to 72 per cent should TPP enter into force, and about 90 per cent if all of our current and prospective negotiations are successfully completed.

Having invested heavily in building what you might call ‘architecture’, the fact that the majority of our exports go to markets that are now, or will soon be, covered by FTAs means in future we are likely to spend less effort looking to negotiate new agreements and more effort on implementing and upgrading our existing agreements.

That includes things like government working with businesses to maximise the advantage of preferential access, monitoring and enforcing the rights we have secured, and in some cases future negotiations to extend aspects of those agreements.

One of the main lessons we have learned – and one which I have discussed with my UK counterparts – is that bigger is not always better, particularly in the early days of a trade strategy.

It is sometimes better to conclude a high-quality agreement with a like-minded partner that can form a benchmark for future discussions with other partners/third parties, rather than rushing into a low-quality deal that may need renegotiating at a later date. I can tell you that it’s better to get it right first time, and leave the door open to upgrade the deal as trade develops and technology changes.

But increasingly New Zealand’s focus will be on the new challenges faced by business. With the progress on tariffs, we should be able to increase our focus over time on the barriers and distortions to our goods exports caused by non-tariff barriers.

Services and investment are also of increased importance. The digital economy is transforming the operating environment for New Zealand.

Take our FTA with China. The success of our trade relationship extends to services – with two-way trade on a sharp growth trajectory, up almost 300 per cent since the FTA entered into force in 2008. A large part of this is the fact that the number of Kiwis and Chinese travelling in both directions is at a historic high – an incredible 500,000 in the year to date. This in turn enhances ties and understanding between our countries, strengthening the foundations of our relationship for the future.

New Zealand has been working to secure a free trade agreement with the European Union. The EU is collectively New Zealand’s third largest trading partner and our second largest investment partner.

So it’s good news that we now have a process in place leading to the launch of negotiations next year. We are making excellent progress with scoping the FTA and everything remains on track, provided that both sides successfully obtain negotiating mandates early next year.

For now, the UK remains a member of the European Union, and has confirmed its support of the FTA and we remain grateful this support.

I have been heartened by the indications I have received from my counterpart, Commissioner Malmstrom, and other ministers that the EU is similarly committed to seeing the FTA launched.

An FTA with the EU 27 remains a priority for us but so does our relationship with the UK.

Brexit holds both opportunity and risk for New Zealand.

The New Zealand Government responded quickly by setting in place internal processes and by deepening our engagement with both the EU and the UK to deal with Brexit questions.

Clearly negotiations between the EU27 and the UK on the terms of the UK’s exit will be complex and resource-intensive. But New Zealand is successful at trade negotiations. We are nimble and adept at adjusting to changing circumstances. We will work hard with the EU and UK to keep things on track.

Whilst the UK cannot enter into legal obligation until the Article 50 process is complete I have expressed our clear interest in a high quality and comprehensive trade deal with Britain and would expect to be one of a group of countries who are first to do such a deal.

In the meantime, Trade Secretary Fox and I have established a Trade Policy Dialogue to ensure our officials engage in detail on the full range of trade and economic issues that will arise as a result of Brexit.

New Zealand and the UK are close friends, and we cooperate across a range of areas. Trade is no different. We have considerable expertise in this area, and since the vote, we have provided considerable support to our friends in the UK. Senior officials from both countries have visited respective capitals, and we have provided training materials and information about the structure of our trade department to help inform the establishment and capability of the UK’s DIT.

Most importantly, however, we have been sharing our experience of the importance of setting a coherent but flexible strategy to guide the direction of trade policy, and to ensure that decisions made lead towards the ultimate goal of liberalising the global trade environment in a way that supports business and delivers benefits to society as a whole.

I will participate in a trade meeting with UK Ministers and my counterparts from a number of Commonwealth countries early next year and thank Liam Fox for his leadership in this area.

When we started our trade strategy 20 years ago, negotiators used to go overseas, do a deal, it would quietly go through parliament and then trade would commence.

Those day are long gone, what’s secret today is on the internet tomorrow.

The public believes that trade deals are good for countries, they don’t think they are good for them.

At the signing of TPP 10,000 people marched in protest. Not all of them knew why they were there.

That doesn’t sound like many, but proportionally that was 135, 000 on the streets of Britain or 1.6 million on the streets of the EU.

When the final readings of the TPP bill took place only 20 protesters turned up.

In part that is because we had engaged more widely than on any trade agreement before.

We talked, explained, fronted up.

But governments can’t do this alone.

We need to find ways to engage with business and industry better.

And we need them to advocate for the benefits of trade.

We need workers whose livelihoods depend up access to foreign markets to see opportunity, not threat.

In a world increasingly ruled by sound bites, telling these positive stories should be a priority we are unashamed to deliver on.

As the UK develops an independent trade policy, and looks to be a global leader in free trade, I would encourage an approach that ensures the public are brought along with the government.

As a Minister, my answer is to keep talking about the issues – people need to be informed; people need to feel that they have been heard, that we take their views seriously and take them into account.

Thank you very much.

| A Beehive release | Weds 30 November 2016 |

 Trade Minister Todd McClay leads a senior-level business delegation on New Zealand’s first trade mission to Tehran in twelve years, today.

Iran and New Zealand have a long-standing trade relationship, dating back to 1975 when New Zealand established an Embassy in Tehran, its first in the Middle East.

“There is enormous opportunity for Iran and New Zealand to work together to boost two-way trade,” says Mr McClay.

“Iran has traditionally been a very important market for our sheep meat and butter however exports have diminished over a number of years. Since the lifting of UN sanctions there are now renewed opportunities to re-establish this trade as well as new opportunities in the education, construction, food and beverage, energy, forestry, specialised manufacturing and services sectors.

“Earlier this year the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister said Iran presented a $1 billion prospect for New Zealand. This mission will be an important first step towards delivering on this exciting opportunity,” says Mr McClay.

The eighteen New Zealand companies joining Mr McClay on this visit to Iran are: NIG Nutritionals, Tait Communications, Enatel Limited, Sealord, Silver Fern Farms, Westland Milk Products, Fonterra, FrameCAD, Flight Coffee, Switchfloat, University of Canterbury, University of Auckland, ANZCO, Auckland University of Technology, Pacific Helmets, Pelco NZ, NZ Bankers Association, and Pultron Composites.

Mr McClay has invited Labour trade spokesman, David Clark, to join him on this visit in the interests of promoting a bipartisan approach to trade, which is critical to New Zealand’s prosperity.

By Foreign Affairs Publisher / December 2, 2016 /

Trade Minister Todd McClay today published a summary of what New Zealand businesses think about Brexit and the impact they believe it could have on trade with the United Kingdom – New Zealand’s fifth largest trading partner.

This follows a public consultation held earlier in the year to better understand the position of New Zealand exporters and investors into the UK market.

A total of 18 submissions were received, with businesses sighting a combination of potential opportunities and challenges from the United Kingdom’s decision to separate from the European Union.

“Understanding the views of New Zealand businesses is fundamental to ensuring that the Government focuses on the areas that count for our exporters,” says Mr McClay.

Some businesses thought the UK might move towards a more open market and indicated that this could boost trade. Several companies emphasised the importance of the UK and the EU respecting their WTO commitments.

Conversely, a number of submitters expressed the view that the UK may adopt a move towards greater protectionism.

“Specifically, some businesses saw an opportunity for the UK to streamline standards and compliance, which would impact positively on trade,” says Mr McClay.

“Last month, I established a trade policy dialogue with UK, laying the foundations for a more formal trading relationship with the UK once it is in a position to negotiate independently of the European Union.

“Yesterday, in London, I met with Alok Sharma, the UK Minister for Asia and the Pacific and reiterated New Zealand’s intention to work with the UK to preserve and enhance our important and longstanding trade relationship.

“I have had similar conversations with UK Trade Minister, Liam Fox, and am grateful for the assurances that New Zealand’s trade interests will be protected in this changing environment.

“This latest feedback from New Zealand businesses will help to ensure that we safeguard New Zealand’s interests as this process unfolds,” says Mr McClay.

A new trading platform to assist buyers of timber in sourcing legal or certified products from all over the world has been launched.

BVRio Environmental Exchange has launched today the Responsible Timber Exchange to facilitate the screening of timber products and their supply chains.

The index, which features a due diligence system, aims to facilitate the procurement of responsible timber products and increase liquidity, supply and demand for this market segment while promoting transparency, legality and sustainability.

The platform will also feature optional services such as grading and quality control, field audits and due diligence, receivables finance, insurance and logistics.

BVRio said it believed the tool would be particularly useful to buyers and traders operating in Europe and the US, where they have to ensure compliance with the EU Timber Regulation and the US Lacey Act, reducing their exposure to the illegal timber trade.

The system was originally designed to screen Brazilian timber but the UK government has helped adapt it to screen responsible timber from West Africa, starting with Ghana, and Peru.

It is ready to screen responsible timber products from the Brazilian Amazon, Indonesia (based on the newly issued FLEGT licenses), as well as FSC and PEFC certified products from around the world.

BVRio has highlighted the high risk of timber illegality in Brazil, where it is estimated that more than 50% of timber comes from illegal sources.

A Supply Management release

Wellington, Nov 29 (Petra) -- His Majesty King Abdullah II held talks on Tuesday with Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, on ways to advance bilateral ties in the economic, trade and defence fields.

The talks, held at the Parliament in Wellington, also dealt with the two countries' efforts to expand cooperation and the prospect of Jordan benefiting from New Zealand's expertise in agriculture, renewable energy, education and other sectors.

Further, both sides agreed to stimulate the private sector in both countries to exchange visits to explore investment opportunities in the different sectors.

In their discussion of efforts to combat terrorism, King Abdullah reiterated Jordan's call for a holistic strategy to address this menace that targets global security and stability.

On Syria, the King said efforts should be ramped up to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis inclusive of all components of the Syrian people.

Talks also highlighted the burdens shouldered by Jordan as a result of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees. The King called on the global community to assume its responsibility toward Jordan and the other refugee-host countries.

The two sides spoke about efforts to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and agreed on the need to exert more efforts to revive peace talks based on the two-state solution and the international legitimacy resolutions.

They also spoke about the situation in Iraq, particularly after the offensive in Mosul, stressing their support of the government to achieve stability with the participation of all segments of the Iraqi people.

The New Zealand premier commended Jordan's role in achieving security and stability in the region and beyond. He said many world leaders he met had praised King Abdullah's wisdom in dealing with global and regional issues.

The prime minister noted Jordan's stance against terrorism and extremism, and said his country viewed the King's visit as an opportunity to further enhance relations.

Also in Wellington, the King visited Weta Digital visual effects company and toured the facilities and state-of-the-art equipment used in movie making.

King Abdullah called for using Jordan's natural attractions, such as Wadi Rum and Petra, in the film industry, referring to the many international movies that were filmed in the country.

Excessive red tape, glacial bureaucratic processes and arbitrary new rules in overseas markets are a big – and costly – part of the trade picture for Kiwi exporters of agriculture, food and other products say the NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

Two recent studies throw a spotlight on the burden imposed by so-called “non-tariff barriers” (NTBs) faced by New Zealand firms operating in the Asia-Pacific. The first report was prepared by the USC Marshall School of Business and released by ABAC at the recent APEC meetings in Lima and focuses on the impact of NTBs on food trade in the Asia-Pacific.

The second report has been prepared by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), and examines the cost of non-tariff measures(NTMs) for business in the APEC region.

“Thanks to free trade agreements, New Zealand exporters are facing lower tariffs than ever before in the region. But they still don’t enjoy a level playing field because of NTBs and costly NTMs,” said Stephen Jacobi, NZIBF Executive Director.

Legitimate NTMs become NTBs when they are more trade restrictive than necessary. NTBs include opaque requirements for labelling and manufacturing processes, arbitrary product standards, and slow and costly Customs and other import procedures. Specific NTBs in agri-food trade include food safety rules that are not science-backed and a web of conflicting labelling requirements.

“These two reports show how NTBs add costs and complexity for business, undermine supply chains, make food and other goods more expensive for consumers, and in some cases even keep exports out of markets altogether,” said ABAC New Zealand member Tony Nowell, who led the ABAC project. “Given the number of small businesses in the New Zealand economy, it is particularly worrying that NTBs can have a disproportionately harsh impact on the operations of SMEs.”

“NTBs in food trade don’t just make life difficult for business. The APEC region has a population of three billion. Food trade helps to match up food supplies with demand, and contributes to food security. These measures actually undermine people’s ability to access safe, nutritious and affordable food,” said Mr Nowell.

More broadly, the non-tariff measures in place in the APEC region have been calculated by NZIER to cost New Zealand business billions each year. The NZIER discussion document estimates that Kiwi exporters face NTMs that impose costs of US$5.9 billion each year. While some measures are legitimate, others are blatantly protectionist, the report found.

“The outlook for the world economy is gloomy. Trade growth has fallen to its lowest level since the global financial crisis. Now more than ever we need to challenge hidden protectionism. NTBs are particularly noxious because they can be hard to even identify, let alone address,” Mr Jacobi said.

“We need greater transparency in rules, clearer timeframes for administrative processes, and regulations that are designed to avoid impeding trade. Exporters and consumers around our region deserve better,” Mr Jacobi concluded.

Issued by New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) and APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).