7 Nov 2017  -  The first big test for the Government will be to get TPP over the line with New Zealand on board writes Catherine Beard in today's NZHerald. Why does this matter? Because free trade agreements translate into new income and jobs, and if the new Government wants to spend more we need to earn more. Every additional $1 billion in exports equates to 8500 new jobs. Continue here to read the full article  ||  November 7,  2017   |||      

3 Nov -  Chinese Mayors representing around 80 million citizens will gather in Wellington on 3-4 December for talks with their Kiwi counterparts.  Fifteen Chinese mayors and vice-mayors from mid and large-sized cities will visit for the second New Zealand China Mayoral Forum to further strengthen relationships between regions of both countries.  They will be joined by 33 mayors from across New Zealand, from our biggest city Auckland to some of our smaller regional centres. The Forum, hosted by Local Government New Zealand and Wellington City Council, is the second time Mayors from China and New Zealand will meet, following…

A free trade agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand has stalled, with one official describing the deal as surviving on “life support” write Shane Cowlishaw and Sam Sachdeva for Newsroom While the focus is currently on the looming TPP deal and how that will be affected by New Zealand’s decision to ban foreign property buyers, it had been hoped some progress could have been made towards a deal with India, the world’s second most populous country. Last year, then-Prime Minister John Key visited India and after meeting his counterpart Narendra Modi said great progress had been made. "They were…

World Top Exports founder Daniel Workman takes a look at the Global sales from kiwifruit exports by country which sees New Zealand rated No 1. Global sales from kiwifruit exports by country amounted to US$2.5 billion in 2016.  Overall, the value of kiwifruit exports were up by an average 20.1% for all exporting countries since 2012 when kiwifruit shipments were valued at $2.1 billion. Year over year, the value of global kiwifruit exports appreciated by 8.7% from 2015 to 2016. Among continents, Oceanian countries (mainly New Zealand) accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported kiwifruit during 2016 with shipments…

As Donald Trump whips the world into a frenzy with his tweets, China is plotting a trillion-dollar global trade revamp which could change everything reads an article in The NZHerald. It's being dubbed the "New Silk Road" which could redefine global trade and mark a tipping point for a new Asian century. So far, 68 countries including New Zealand have signed up to the President Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road" (BRI) project, but it's left Aussie politicians divided and scratching their heads, according to an international relations expert. "I don't think the government has done a great deal of…

New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines David Strachan expects stronger ties between his country and Cebu as the two parties further explore opportunities in trade, tourism and education. At a time when the people-to-people links between New Zealand and the Philippines are burgeoning, Strachan led an 11-strong New Zealand delegation to Cebu to look into potential areas of collaboration. “We continue to strengthen our ties and explore partnerships that would be beneficial for Cebu and New Zealand,” he said in a roundtable discussion with local media at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel last Friday. According to Strachan, 80 percent of…

Of the top five countries writes by Pam Tipa in RuralNews, New Zealand trades with, it only has trade deals with two, an ExportNZ conference has heard. “That leaves us very vulnerable,” says trade expert Charles Finny. “We don’t have links to those markets that others do.” National trade spokesman Todd McClay had earlier pushed the case for NZ to forge ahead in doing deals with like-minded countries. Of our top five goods export countries -- China, Australia, US, EU and Japan -- we only have trade deals with China and Australia, he told the Auckland conference held on September…

Did you know that it takes over twelve hours to fly from China to the United States? With such a large distance between them, it is not surprising that the regions differ in many ways, from culture to industry. Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial parts supplier, EU Automation explains the main differences between the manufacturing markets in the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, that brings the Internet of Things (IoT) to industry, first began in Germany. Manufacturers worldwide aim to compete with companies by investing in the technology introduced…

The New Zealand economy continued to grow solidly in the June quarter, posting a 0.8 per cent increase in GDP, taking New Zealand's growth rate for the year to 2.7 per cent, Finance Minister Steven Joyce says. “Our economy continues to outperform many developed nations, underpinned by strong export and domestic demand,” Mr Joyce says. “It is still a challenging international environment, which is why we need to continue with an economic plan that is working for New Zealand.” New Zealand’s growth over the last year has exceeded that of Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, the Euro area, Japan,…

Trade Minister Todd McClay says a trade agreement with Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru could be worth 10,000 jobs to provincial New Zealand and will give Kiwis unprecedented access to fast-growing Latin American markets. This comes as Mr McClay calls for public submissions on FTA negotiations with the Pacific Alliance countries. “Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru combined have 221 million consumers and a GDP of US$3.85 trillion, which is equivalent to the world’s sixth largest economy,” Mr McClay says. “This is an important market for us now, and we want the public and the business community to consider how they…

Trade Minister Todd McClay says he expects the NZ-European Union Free Trade Agreement to be formally launched later this year after the European Commission and New Zealand both finalised their respective negotiating mandates. “It’s extremely important the European Commission and New Zealand have completed this next step,” Mr McClay says. “European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also announced tonight in his ‘State of the Union’ address that he is seeking approval to launch negotiations and aims to conclude the NZ-EU FTA by late 2019.” “An FTA will give New Zealand companies an opportunity to significantly increase trade with the EU.” “Two-way…