The Government's intervention in the Canadian partial takeover offer for Auckland Airport could cause New Zealand some embarrassment in the delicately poised Doha world trade talks, National says.
In Parliament yesterday its trade spokesman, Tim Groser, contrasted the Government's decision last week to decline the Canadians' foreign investment
application, with its offer, in the services strand of the Doha negotiations, to completely liberalise - that is, open to foreign investment - airport operation services and airport management services.
The same day the Government knocked back the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean called for World Trade Organisation members to make significant improvements in the services offers if major progress was to be made on agriculture and industrial goods.
"When everyone else is moving forward with improved market access [Trade Minister Phil Goff] will be essentially be obliged to withdraw one of the key aspects of New Zealand's offer," said Groser, a former New Zealand ambassador to the WTO.
New Zealand's offer to other WTO members on services has been on the table since 2005. It has a "horizontal commitment" or caveat which briefly summarises the overseas investment regulations applying then but not the recent changes made before the airport company shareholders' vote.
Goff said later the airport decision was consistent with the services offer. "The question of any need to amend New Zealand's services offer does not arise."
He said a 2003 Cabinet decision laid down the guiding principle that New Zealand's offer on services not require any changes to New Zealand's existing regulatory settings.
"The offer is entirely consistent with the ability of the Government to apply the Overseas Investment Office approval procedures to any proposed purchase of Auckland Airport."
