New Zealand signs free trade agreement with EU

New Zealand and the European Union have signed a ground-breaking Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that will provide “significant new trade access” to New Zealand’s fourth-largest trading partner. The FTA will increase New Zealand’s exports to the EU by up to 1.8 billion NZ dollars (1.11 billion U.S. dollars) per year by 2035, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday. Tariff savings on New Zealand exports are 100 million NZ dollars (61.84 million U.S. dollars) from day one of the agreement entering into force, the highest immediate tariff saving delivered by any New Zealand FTA, Hipkins said, adding that is around three times the immediate savings from the FTA between New Zealand and Britain. This will add billions every year to New Zealand’s GDP, Hipkins said. Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor said the NZ-EU FTA will cut costs and support exporters to grow and diversify their trade.