Hon Dr Lockwood Smith - National Party Foreign Affairs & Trade Spokesman
11 March 2005
Concern over parts of NZ-Thailand FTA
National’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Spokesman, Lockwood Smith, says he is concerned that the free trade agreement with
Thailand, due to come into effect on July 1, has no commitment to liberalise trade in services.
“The agreement sets aside negotiations on services for three years.
“When National negotiated CER with Australia, the provisions for services were world leading. Likewise, our bilateral
agreement with Singapore advanced liberalisation of services significantly.
“This is our first bilateral trade agreement to exclude services and is a massive step backwards in that regard.
“Following statements by Green co-leader Ron Donald that his party is opposed to services being included in the Thailand
FTA, questions should be asked as to the extent to which this decision has been influenced by the Greens.
“At yesterday’s summit on trade with China, this issue was raised as clearly of concern to New Zealand businesses when
more than half of New Zealand’s GDP is made up of services,” Dr Smith says.
ENDS