EU-New Zealand agreement: welcome restart of an ambitious bilateral trade agenda

EU-New Zealand agreement: welcome restart of an ambitious bilateral trade agenda

30 June 2022 - Today, Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O’Connor announced a political agreement for an EU-New Zealand free trade agreement.

BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: "The trade deal with New Zealand marks a welcome and much-needed resumption of an ambitious EU trade agenda. The geo-economic context marked by supply chains disruptions demands resilience from the EU by spreading and mitigating risk through market diversification, both for imports and exports. The war in Ukraine makes us look at the bilateral relationship from a different angle: like-minded countries that are committed to free trade must unite forces to open markets and fight climate change.

European business looks forward to assessing the agreement in detail, both in terms of market access provisions as well as sustainability objectives."

The EU-New Zealand free trade agreement will be the first deal to incorporate the new approach to trade and sustainable development unveiled in the Communication “The power of trade partnerships: together for green and just economic growth” published by the European Commission on 22 June.