Representatives of the EU and New Zealand have signed a joint free trade agreement. In addition, New Zealand will be part of the billion-euro research and exchange program Horizon Europe, as the EU Commission announced on Sunday. At the signing, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the agreement could increase trade between the two partners by an estimated 30 percent. EU investment in New Zealand could increase by up to 80 percent, said EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
According to the EU states, exports from the EU to New Zealand alone could grow by up to 4.5 billion euros per year. According to the information, companies can save around 140 million euros in customs duties in the first year. The agreement is expected to come into force in 2024.
Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), described the agreement as a “beacon in an otherwise gloomy foreign trade environment”. It is a counterpoint to increasing protectionism worldwide. The chairman of the CDU/CSU group in the European Parliament, Daniel Caspary (CDU), emphasized that the agreement requires compliance with the Paris climate agreement. “It also ensures that violations of the agreed sustainability regulations can be sanctioned for the first time.”
The Chair of the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament, Anna Cavazzini (Greens), said that robust sustainability requirements in trade agreements must become the gold standard.
Wool among New Zealand’s main exports
According to the federal government, Germany was most recently New Zealand’s most important trading partner within the EU, while New Zealand ranked 59th for Germany in a global comparison. Vehicles, machines and pharmaceutical products in particular are exported from Germany. Most recently, New Zealand’s most important export goods to Germany were agricultural and forestry products such as sheep and game meat, fruit, dairy products and wool.
Once signed, the text is sent to the European Parliament for approval. Then ratification could take place. Negotiations on this began in June 2018. (dpa)