New Zealand’s Hipkins sees export lift from EU free trade deal

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will sign a free trade agreement with the European Union next week that will deliver more savings for exporters than any of the South Pacific nation’s previous arrangements.

The agreement will unlock immediate savings of around NZ$100 million ($62 million) a year when it enters into force, Hipkins said in a speech Friday in Wellington. He travels to Brussels later today.

In a wide ranging foreign policy speech, Hipkins reiterated New Zealand’s reliance of FTAs to open doors, noting that more than 73% of exports will be covered by those arrangements once the EU deal takes effect. In May, Hipkins signed a pact with the UK.

“If you thought the UK FTA was big – and it was – then I’m pleased to tell you that the EU FTA provides even more value for New Zealand, including tariff savings for our exports around three times more than those achieved through our UK outcome,” Hipkins said today.

Hipkins’ European visit, which includes attendance at the NATO Summit in Lithuania, follows his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week. 

New Zealand’s relationship with China, which is its biggest trade partner, is complex because the two nations hold a number of different views, Hipkins said, making reference to recent media reports about a “robust conversation” between New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and her Chinese counterpart.

“You might have noticed we didn’t deny that,” Hipkins said. “A strong, mature and complex relationship means we will have those tough conversations, just as I also raised areas of disagreement with the Chinese leadership when I was in Beijing.”

New Zealand’s national interests require continued engagement with China, and cooperation where our interests converge, particularly around economic interests, Hipkins said.

“But there are other ways in which China challenges our national interests and in these areas we will disagree,” he said. “However, putting up walls and closing doors doesn’t serve us well in the long term and engagement is always preferable to isolation.”