8. DIANNE YATES (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Trade
Will New Zealand support the proposal by Japan to establish a comprehensive economic partnership in East Asia consisting of those countries which are members of the East Asian Summit?
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Trade) Link to this
Yes. The proposal put forward by Japan to the East Asian economic Ministers in Kuala Lumpur last week aims to create a free-trade area that would have a combined population of 3.1 billion people and a gross domestic product of US$9 trillion. We would obviously benefit from being part of that. However, at this point the proposal is at a conceptual stage. There is a considerable distance to go and there are practical difficulties to overcome before this could be put into practice.
The fact the Japanese Government is prepared to put US$100 million into the proposal demonstrates it is a very serious one. It proposes to do this by working with the partner countries to set up an expert study into the implications of economic integration and establishing a research institute to do the work on the issues surrounding this proposal. ASEAN economic Ministers, together with Australia, New Zealand, and India, warmly welcomed the proposals as a means to analyse and report on the implications of economic integration for the region. I think that study will demonstrate there are clear benefits for all concerned.
Hon Brian Donnelly Link to this
Will the Government conduct comprehensive research into this prospective partnership to ensure we have the best possible match between what we are producing and the demands of these markets, so that local producers are not unfairly disadvantaged by any such economic arrangement?
Given the fact that New Zealand has very low tariff barriers, no quotas, and very few behind tariff barriers to the importation of goods from countries in this region, and that those countries have quite considerably higher tariff barriers and restrictions, New Zealand clearly would be a beneficiary. But to answer the specific point of the member’s question, New Zealand will be participating in this study and will probably be nominating an economic group in New Zealand to participate as part of it.
Is the Government likely to support this proposal in preference to trade liberalisation through the World Trade Organization (WTO) or APEC?
The Government’s preference clearly remains a comprehensive trade liberalisation agreement through the WTO Doha development round, and we will continue to work with other countries to try to break the impasse in those negotiations. However, should progress continue to be blocked in this area, then, clearly, other regional mechanisms like APEC and the ASEAN plus six proposal raised by Japan will gain more attention.