Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
🚨 NDVA surged 43%. This AI Chipmaker Could Be Next See Analysis
EU, New Zealand seal free trade deal in "geopolitical signal"
Published Jun 30, 2022 09:47AM ET
Updated Jun 30, 2022 12:36PM ET
2/2
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 29, 2022. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS
2/2
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 29, 2022. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS
2/2
By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union and New Zealand completed negotiations on Thursday for a free trade agreement that could boost the flow of goods and services by 30% and highlights Europe's push for alliances to make up for its business withdrawal from Russia.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the deal sent an important "geopolitical signal" and stressed the European Union would seek further partnerships.
"It's clear that we need to diversify away from Russia ... (and) look for new markets, supply chains and so forth and this is exactly what this deal contributes too," Dombrovskis told reporters.
A majority of EU members have urged the Commission, which oversees trade policy, to accelerate the conclusion of trade agreements to avoid others taking its place.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it had taken 14 years since the idea of a trade agreement was first floated.
Negotiations began in mid-2018 and, for the EU, the deal will put the bloc's trade with New Zealand on a par with countries that already have a trade pact with New Zealand, notably those of the 11-nation CPTPP Asia-Pacific deal.
It will also see it partially catching up with former EU member Britain, which has signed trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, although they are still to enter force.
The agreement will remove tariffs on a wide range of products and be the first struck by the EU to include potential sanctions for violations of environmental or labour standards, a concept it only proposed last week.
Tariffs will fall for EU exports such as clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cars, as well as wine and confectionary. The EU will increase by 10,000 tonnes its quota of New Zealand beef, a sensitive area for France in particular, as well as raising volumes for lamb, butter and cheese.
"It's probably fair to say that no one likes it, so we must have got it about right," New Zealand trade minister Damien O'Connor said, half-joking, when asked about the compromises made during tough, final talks.
The deal may enter force in 18-24 months, subject to approval by the European Parliament and EU governments, a process which has in cases dragged on for years.
Bernd Lange, chair of parliament's trade committee that will scrutinise the deal, called it a good day for trade, with a deal that was one of the most progressive on labour rights and the environment.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.