Years of negotiations with China over an upgraded free trade agreement have ended, Jacinda Ardern announced this afternoon while touting the outcome as "the best FTA China has with any country".
Announcing the upgrade from the East Asia Summit in Thailand after a meeting with China's Premier Li Keqiang, the Prime Minister said the agreement upgrade "reflects the importance both countries place on our relationship".
The upgrade would see new rules that will "make exporting to China easier and reduce compliance costs for New Zealand exports", a statement by the Government said.
"This includes, for example, faster border release of fresh food products, and other products that may have transited through other countries en route to China."
It would also see environmental considerations introduced and preferential access given to almost all of New Zealand's wood and paper trade to China, eliminating tariffs over 10 years on 12 more wood and paper products.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke with 1 NEWS ahead of the summit in Bangkok this week.
Safeguard tariffs are set to be eliminated in two years for most dairy products, and in four years for milk powder.
"By January 2024, New Zealand will have the best access to China for dairy products of any country," Ms Ardern said.
Former Prime Minister John Key began talks in 2016 with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the possibility of lifting dairy safeguard tariffs .
Created in 2008, New Zealand's FTA with China has seen negotiations spanning the last three years, with China placed as New Zealand's largest export market.
New Zealand's latest exports to China totalled $16 billion, with $12.7 billion in goods and $3.4 billion in services. The major exports were dairy, wood and meat, as well as tourism and education. Imports from China were $12 billion, with the majority of imports being electronics, clothing, furniture and toys.
Trade Minister David Parker said since the 2008 FTA was signed, "China’s free trade agreements have evolved".
"This is why we entered into upgrade negotiations: to ensure our agreement is modern and deepens our relationship further, and to ensure that New Zealand’s exporters have a deal as good as, if not better than, their competitors," Mr Parker said.
In National's latest economic discussion document, it proposed doubling trade with China from $30 billion to $60 billion over the next 10 years.
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