Print this page

The future of free trade agreements

  • font size decrease font size decrease font size increase font size increase font size
  New Zealand has pursued FTAs aggressively in an attempt to improve access for our pastoral exports. New Zealand has pursued FTAs aggressively in an attempt to improve access for our pastoral exports. Photo: Lynn Grieveson

Jan 30, 2018  -New Zealand must continue to seek to increase our access to protected pastoral markets, but international trade deals come at a cost, writes economist Brian Easton

Many consider Michael Reddell, the writer of the Croaking Cassandra blog, as an eccentric provocateur. Maybe. But he is also a good economist and his judgments should be reflected upon, especially in his area of expertise in macroeconomic and monetary policy, and financial regulatory matters.

Even so, I have considerable reservations over his recent A Free Trader Critiques the CPTPP. It is doubly interesting because Reddell rightly describes himself as pro-free trade. (I am always uneasy about the term ‘free trade’, but you know what it means.) Should not a pro-free trader support a free trade deal? The correct answer is ‘not always’.

Reddell particularly cites the Australian-US FTA (AUSFTA) which is widely thought to be a bad deal for Australia. Its Prime Minister, John Howard, staked his reputation on obtaining one. The US negotiators, knowing this, offered a deal which was in their interests but for which there was little for Australia. Howard was so committed he could not politically back out.

(This is the reason I am reluctant for us to do a bilateral free trade deal with the US; we have so little leverage and were we as enthusiastic as Australia we would be screwed too.)

Continue to read the full article on newsroom.co.nz   ||  January 30, 2018   |||