Jan 25, 2018  -  Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker has welcomed the conclusion of negotiations for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Negotiators finalised the agreement in Tokyo on Tuesday and the 11 nations in the trade pact are due to sign it in Chile on March 8.

Mr Parker says the CPTPP could come into effect later in 2018.

The Government will now recommend the select committee examining the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill – which will put in place restrictions on foreign buyers of existing homes – allow more time for consideration.

The law must be in place before the CPTPP takes effect.

Mr Parker says the CPTPP represents a fairer deal for New Zealanders than the earlier TPP agreement.

It satisfies the five conditions the Labour-led Government set down for a revised TPP.

They included increased market access for exports, upholding the Treaty of Waitangi, protecting the Pharmac model and preserving the right to regulate in the public interest.

It also narrowed the scope to make Investor State Dispute Settlement claims.

“The CPTPP will provide New Zealand exporters with preferential access for the first time into Japan, the world’s third-largest economy and our fifth-largest export market.

“It will also be New Zealand’s first FTA relationship with Canada (our 13th largest export market), Mexico (21st), and Peru (46th),” Mr Parker says.

“The CPTPP is even more important to signatory countries given current threats to the effectiveness of the WTO and rising protectionism in many parts of the world.”

“United States President Donald Trump has just announced a new 30 per cent tariff on imports of solar cells. This is but one example.”

“Before the agreement is ratified, New Zealanders will be given the opportunity to better understand what it means for them, their families and the country. We are committed to ensuring this is done in a fair and accessible way,” Mr Parker says.

The 11 CPTPP countries are New Zealand, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Viet Nam.

| A Beehive release  |||January 24,2018   |||