Advancing New Zealand through boosting trade무역 증진을 통해 전진하는 뉴질랜드
일요시사
0
652
2015.04.02 10:23
Last week I travelled to Korea and Japan, where I met with President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss a wide range of topics. While in Seoul, I witnessed the signing of New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement with Korea.
This Agreement will make it easier for Koreans and Kiwis to do business with each other. Korea is one of New Zealand’s biggest and most important trading partners. With a population of over 50 million, and as the 13th largest economy in the world, it is an attractive market for New Zealand exporters.
The Free Trade Agreement will ensure that nearly half of New Zealand’s current exports to Korea will be immediately duty-free, and then almost all tariffs on current exports will be wiped progressively over the next 15 years.
This is a huge win for New Zealand exporters, who have been paying NZ$229 million in duties each year. This Agreement will save them around NZ$65 million in the first year alone.
It will also mean New Zealand can compete on a more even playing field with our competitors, including the United States, Chile and the European Union, which already have free trade agreements with Korea.
This Agreement continues on from the success of the Free Trade Agreement we have with China, which was signed in 2008, and has helped to make China our largest trading partner.
Last year during a visit to China, I announced with Chinese President Xi Jinping an ambitious new goal of increasing two-way trade to between our two countries to NZ$30 billion by 2020.
Earlier this month during a visit by Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, I also agreed an ambitious target of doubling two-way trade with Viet Nam to around NZ$2.2 billion by 2020.
Free Trade Agreements and growing trade with counties like Korea, China and Vietnam are critically important to the growth of New Zealand’s economy.
They help to create more jobs and boost incomes for New Zealanders.
