Kiwi meat producers welcome revamped CPTPP trade deal

The revamped TPP trade deal has been welcomed by NZ meat exporters. Picture/NZME

New Zealand meat exporters said the revamped TPP trade deal would put local producers on a level playing field with others in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beef and Lamb NZ and the Meat Industry Association, in a joint statement, said they welcomed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Beef and Lamb chief executive Sam McIvor said the conclusion of the agreement was good news for sheep and beef farmers and all New Zealanders.

"The sector understands there have been no changes to the original market access conditions which will open multiple markets in Japan, Mexico, Peru and Canada where New Zealand red meat faces tariffs of up to 50 per cent," he said.

"It will also benefit communities in New Zealand as exports from the sector support 80,000 jobs and families across New Zealand," McIvor said.

Tim Ritchie, chief executive of the Meat Industry Association, said the deal would open up red meat exports to the important Japanese market.

"The CPTPP will put New Zealand on a level playing field with other major red meat exporters in the Asia Pacific region, such as Australia and the European Union – especially in Japan where the sector has already lost significant market share," he said.

During the recent negotiations, officials resolved the outstanding issues and have agreed to meet in Chile to sign the agreement on March 8.

Earlier, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed the breakthrough in the revised TPP after talks in Tokyo.

And New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has announced that his party will support the deal, because of revisions that were negotiated under the mandate of the new Government.

Speaking to reporters at Ratana, Ardern said it was not a perfect deal, but it was improved vastly on National's deal.

"We long acknowledged that we wanted improvement to the deal," she said.

The New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) welcomed the new deal.

Four issues remained after negotiations in Da Nang, Vietnam, in November: carve-outs for subsidies to sustain local culture, labour standards and state-owned enterprises and coal production, issues which are important to CPTPP members Canada, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei respectively. Those have now been resolved following a further two days of negotiations.

Stephen Jacobi, executive director of NZIBF, said the deal "comes not a moment too soon for New Zealand in Japan where our trade interests have suffered because we lack the sort of trade arrangements that our competitors enjoy."

"Once CPTPP enters into force we will have new FTAs with Japan, Canada, Mexico and Peru. There is also interest from a range of other economies in joining CPTPP. All this means new opportunities for New Zealand to grow trade and jobs," he said.

National's trade spokesperson Todd McLay said the deal would "bring the Asia-Pacific region closer together and show that free trade is still possible, and important, in a time of increasing protectionism around the world".