Businesses split on free trade

The survey found 11 per cent of businesses wanted subsidies for local industries.

As the Government sets out to renegotiate the China free trade agreement, a survey of businesses found most claiming the deals offered them no overall benefit.

The survey, conducted in late 2016 for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), found a majority of businesses on either side of the Tasman claimed there was no impact from the deals, or the impact was neutral.

Of the New Zealand companies covered by the survey, 72 per cent said free trade deals had either no impact, a neutral impact or an unclear impact, while 64 per cent of Australians were also neutral on the deals.

About 24 per cent of New Zealanders included in the survey said free trade deals had a positive impact on their businesses, while 3 per cent said the deals had a negative impact.

Donald Trump won the United States presidency on the promise of new trade barriers to protect the US economy, saying he would impose hefty tariffs on imports from Mexico and China.

One of his first acts as president was to sign an executive order removing the US from the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), effectively killing the deal and stoking fears of a global move towards new trade protections.

Prime Minister Bill English has warned of the potential impact of trade barriers, and on March 24 announced that $90 million would be spent on a push to boost free trade coverage from 53 per cent of exports now, to more than 90 per cent by 2030.

But the CAANZ survey, released as part of the Future of Trade report yesterday, found that free trade deals, or reducing trade barriers generally, was not the clear preference of the businesses covered.

Asked to choose from a range of options on settings, 18 per cent said they would prefer no change to trade settings.

About 15 per cent said the main change they wanted was faster speed at customs for goods.

Only 9 per cent of businesses said the main change desired was pursuing more free trade deals, while about 5 per cent said the best thing that could happen was the removal of existing trade agreements.

The survey found 11 per cent of businesses wanted subsidies for local industries, while more than 8 per cent called for the introduction of tariffs.

The survey was conducted by Research Now in October and November 2016.

CAANZ said 39 per cent of the survey’s respondents were based in New Zealand.