US receptive to free trade deal, says NZ minister

SYDNEY: The United States has indicated that it is open to a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, said its trade minister yesterday.

Todd McClay visited Washington for high-level trade talks with the administration of President Donald Trump last week, meeting with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and newly appointed Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, among others.

“I’ve welcomed their interest in an FTA as a demonstration of the good shape our trading relationship is in,” said McClay.

He said his centre-right government wanted free-trade agreements to cover 90 per cent of goods exported by 2030, up from just over half currently, and the United States would be an important part of achieving that.

Two-way trade between the two countries reached US$16 billion (RM68.45 billion) last year, making the US New Zealand’s third-largest individual trading partner, according to New Zealand’s ministry of foreign affairs and trade.

New Zealand’s US$180 billion economy depends on exports, and the country lobbied hard in favour of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

Alongside Japan and Australia, it is trying to negotiate a deal with the 11 remaining countries of the TPP after the US withdrew.

Trump dumped membership of the TPP as one of his first acts in an “America First” policy aiming at bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US.

He said he would seek one-onone trade deals with countries that would allow the US to quickly terminate them in 30 days “if somebody misbehaves”.

McClay said he had a constructive meeting with Lighthizer and said Ross indicated he saw no major impediments to a trade deal with his country.