Minister praises ‘fair deal’ for NZ

Trade Minister David Parker, who is in Santiago for the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), said it was a “fair deal for New Zealand”.

Parker also revealed New Zealand had signed “side letters” with five countries to exclude the use of the controversial compulsory investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions — measures that allow corporates to sue governments for law changes and regulations that affect their business.

As well as Australia, those countries are Brunei, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam.

“I’m pleased we have been able to make so much progress in just a few months. We haven’t been able to get every country on board, but signing letters with this many CPTPP partners is a real achievement,” Parker said.

While Canada and Chile had not agreed to full exclusion of ISDS, they and New Zealand had signed a joint declaration to use investorstate dispute settlement responsibly.

Parker said the CPTPP brought together 11 countries whose combined economies made up 13.5 per cent of the world’s GDP — worth US$10 trillion.

“It gives our exporters new opportunities in key markets like Japan, it preserves the unique status of the Treaty of Waitangi, and it protects the Government’s right to regulate in the public interest.” The 11 countries are New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.