Footwear given time to adjust
08/04/2008
New Zealand has become the first country in the developed world to sign a free trade agreement with China, under which it will be able to export 96% of goods to China without tariff by 2019. At the same time, it will abolish tariffs on all goods it imports from China.
In announcing the deal in Beijing, prime minister, Helen Clark, said sectors of the economy that were "vulnerable to imports from China", including footwear, would be given time to adjust.
China enjoys a three-to-two balance of trade advantage over New Zealand. The Government hopes the agreement will help to reverse that imbalance. It forecasts additional exports of between $225 million and $350 million.
It points out that China is already New Zealand's fourth-biggest trading partner, despite Beijing maintaining trade barriers against New Zealand goods, while very few barriers apply to Chinese imports.
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