20 June 2012

NZUS Council welcomes Canada to TPP negotiations

The announcement that Canada is joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations shows that progress is being made in building an open and inclusive agreement, said the NZUS Council.

“Canada’s decision to join the TPP negotiations following Mexico’s announcement yesterday is further proof that TPP is open to new members who believe they can meet the high standards set by the agreement,” said NZUS Council Executive Director Stephen Jacobi.

“Canada is a major global economy and a long-standing friend of New Zealand. A successful outcome to the TPP negotiations will allow the economic relationship between New Zealand and Canada to reach a new level”.

New Zealand exports to Canada in 2011 were worth $597.4 million and it was our 19th largest export market. The top exports were sheep meat, beef and wine.

Mr Jacobi foresaw tough negotiations ahead on market access for agricultural products given that Canada maintains tight restrictions on supply managed industries including dairy and poultry.

“The NZUS Council’s submission to the New Zealand Government last year made clear that we considered Canada’s supply management policies incompatible with the vision of TPP as a comprehensive, high quality and ambitious agreement. These differences will now need to be resolved at the negotiating table”.

Mr Jacobi noted that Japan was continuing to follow the TPP process closely.

“We look forward to Japan joining the negotiations once the Japanese Government is confident it can meet the high ambition of TPP and consultations are complete,” said Mr Jacobi.

About The Trans Pacific Partnership
TPP is an existing trade agreement between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore which Australia, Malaysia, Peru, the United States and Viet Nam wish to join. Eleven rounds of negotiations have been held involving the nine partners. The economies of APEC account for over 70 per cent of New Zealand’s total merchandise trade. Trade with APEC economies has been growing at an average of 4.5 per cent per annum over the last 20 years. The TPP could add around $2.1 billion to the New Zealand economy by 2025 according to research undertaken by the East-West Center, in Honolulu.

About the NZUS Council – www.nzuscouncil.com
The NZ US Council is a non-partisan body funded by both business and the Government to promote New Zealand’s broader relationship with the US. Two-way trade with the US is valued at over $8 billion and the US is a leading source of investment, innovation and business ideas. The NZ US Council is actively engaged in co-ordinating business and government efforts towards concluding a comprehensive, high quality result to the TPP negotiations.

ENDS

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