Lobbyist prepares to raise profile

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN assistant editor

Washington Ambassador John Wood will intensify New Zealand's campaign for a US free-trade deal and raise its visibility within the Congress.

Wood said his lobbying team had kept a low profile while the Australia-US deal was under negotiation.

"It seemed to us necessary that we should clear some space and let the Australians and the United States get on and negotiate an arrangement. We didn't want to deflect them in any way from that objective."

Wood said the Australia-US deal was positive and a "necessary contingent step along the way to us realising our own ambitions".

"Now that there is an agreement there - and it will be going through the US Congress - clearly it's time for us to lift our game a bit and be more visible."

The campaign will go up a gear when Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton hits Washington in a fortnight fresh from a meeting of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting nations.

The Australia-US deal - which is so soft on agriculture it has been dubbed "Australian Lite" along the Washington Beltway - will inevitably be centre-stage at the Cairns Group meeting.

US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile, who were the key negotiators, will face tough questioning on the "lack of ambition" in their newly minted deal.

But Sutton will not press Zoellick directly for a deal for New Zealand until they get an opportunity to meet face to face in Washington.

"We would want to deal with bilateral issues in a more structured way here in Washington," said Wood. "And if Bob Zoellick's in town I'm sure he would see Jim Sutton."

He will also lobby Congress members in a swing through Capitol Hill and meet US corporate supporters.

"It'll not be a big visit in terms of the time available but it will be an active and compressed programme here," said Wood.

"We will be saying to them, 'this is a good and welcome development and now we would like you to begin to focus on our request'."

Fred Benson, president ot the US NZ Council, has written to Zoellick with an urgent request to begin discussions to bring New Zealand "into the FTA picture" as soon as possible.

The Benson letter cites New Zealand's role in Afghanistan and Iraq as "firm evidence of a remarkably strong commitment" to join the US in combating global terrorism.

"We are concerned that if the US were to have an FTA with Australia but not New Zealand, economic harm would likely result to the excluded partner through investment diversion."