Business told to speak up fast on China trade

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN

Senior trade negotiator Charles Finny wants New Zealand business to get its submissions in quickly on the proposed free-trade deal with China.

Finny, director of the China FTA Taskforce, said the priority was to complete a first phase of consultation so the taskforce had a very good idea of the priorities for New Zealand industry.

The taskforce is expected to try to get access for New Zealand exporters on better terms in areas such as milk powder, fish, meat and kiwifruit.

The taskforce is working on a joint feasibility study with Chinese officials.

As part of the study, the taskforce needs to identify all barriers to an FTA, determine its likely impacts and develop a negotiating strategy.

"We can't really make much more progress on the study until we have that information available to us," said Finny.

Finny, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was brought back from Taipei to head the China FTA Taskforce. China is New Zealand's fourth largest market and one of the world's fastest growing economies.

The ministry has not put any figure on the spin-off to the NZ economy from a free trade deal with China.

But "back of the cigarette pack" calculations by Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton suggest the benefits will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research is providing modelling on the impacts, and the Canberra-based Centre for International Economics is working on the dynamic effects of an FTA.

The multi-disciplinary taskforce includes officials from Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Treasury and NZ Trade and Enterprise.

Others agencies will be brought in as required.