NZ Trade Relations: Malaysia FTA Boosts Big Export Market
November 20th, 2009
The Free Trade Agreement NZ and Malaysia have signed will help deepen ties with the southeast Asian nation which already takes $1bn of exports, making it NZ’s 8th biggest export destination. For New Zealand, the deal helps build momentum towards a broader Southeast Asian accord, which leaders signed up to at a meeting in Bangkok, along with Aust, NZ and India although Trade Minister Tim Groser says a broader deal is some years off.
John Key says the FTA is “further evidence of our economic integration with Asia. The agreement builds on the results we achieved with the 12-country ASEAN-Australia-NZ FTA signed earlier this year.”
NZ exports to Malaysia surged 80% between 2004 and 2008, double the rate for overall export growth. Among the agreement’s details are a tariff on kiwifruit imports to be phased out next year, quotas on milk shipments to be removed and tariffs on a range of items withdrawn over the next six years. Key led a NZ business delegation of more than 60 to Malaysia. He says the FTA with China is an example of how such agreements bolster trade.
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