EU deal would be trade goldmine for NZ

A lucrative free trade deal with the European Union was poised to take the next step overnight when the European Union was to decide whether to launch formal negotiations with New Zealand and Australia.

A deal with the EU is potentially worth billions of dollars.

While the Government was reluctant to get in ahead of an EU announcement, Australian reports widely expected the talks to get the green light.

Trade Minister David Parker said a deal with the EU would be ‘‘very, very significant’’.

European consumers were among the wealthiest in the world ‘‘and that flowed through to more jobs and higher incomes for New Zealanders’’.

‘‘This is probably one of the best deals that we could do.’’

Two-way trade between New Zealand and the EU is worth about $20 billion, though about $4b of that is with the UK, which is due to quit the EU. But Britain has signalled that a free trade deal with New Zealand is high on its list of priorities.

Free trade with the EU would be one of the ‘‘big four’’ for New Zealand in terms of economic impact – the others being the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, and our free trade agreement with China. A free trade deal with the United States is still considered the pinnacle, but remains elusive.

However, Parker said New Zealand was not counting chickens until the EU vote.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern used her visit to Europe last month to lobby French President Emmanuel Macron, who reportedly was wary over the potential impact on his country’s agriculture sector. But he agreed to support the deal in principle.

An economic impact report by the EU suggested it would boost New Zealand GDP by more than $1b and boost exports by 10 to 20 per cent. its