ExportNZ pushes free trade positives
Exporters are concerned that political manoeuvring in the lead-up to this year’s election could lead some Kiwis to lose sight of the importance of trade to the economy.
ExportNZ is calling for all political parties to support a free-trade agenda, and has released a report that analyses the benefits of freely traded exports.
It said the country’s export sector directly and indirectly accounted for nearly three-quarters of a million jobs, and that exports brought in 43 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP.
But executive director Catherine Beard said trade liberalisation was getting a bad rap.
She said New Zealand had traditionally had good support from both sides of parliament for trade.
‘‘A lot of New Zealanders took it for granted because of the obvious benefits to a small country like us; it’s a no-brainer.’’
But she said that had been eroded in the response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), which the Labour Party did not support.
‘‘There were a lot of emotional objections because if you looked at the text of the agreement, some of the things people were worried about were covered off.’’
ExportNZ’s report said the rise of US President Donald Trump, the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote, and the rise of nationalist political parties in much of Europe pointed towards a sea change in public attitudes towards trade and economic integration.
‘‘We need to be careful to avoid blindly ‘importing’ other economies’ concerns – for example the US ‘rust belt’ perceptions of the hollowing out of manufacturing due to Chinese imports,’’ it said.
‘‘New Zealand has a much more flexible economy than those of rural US states and much of Europe.’’
Beard said when there was a lack of mainstream political support, it made ‘‘middle New Zealand’’ worried. ‘‘We wanted to get the facts back on the table of the benefits of trade more generally.’’
She said households and businesses benefited from free trade, and it was thanks to free trade that households were able to buy electronic goods and cars at prices they now took for granted.
‘‘That adds more money in their pockets they can spend on other things. New Zealand is uniquely placed in the world to gain the most out of fair trade agreements because the areas where the greatest tariffs are applied are generally agri[cultural] exports.’’
She said a more protectionist stance would leave everyone worse off.
David Spurway, chief executive of infant formula exporter New Zealand New Milk, said New Zealand’s fascination with developing businesses ‘‘on the smell of an oily rag’’ was ‘‘rubbish’’– and the Government needed to get behind business with more financial support.
‘‘Imagine what New Zealand could achieve in sectors with more funding for research and development or technology,’’ he said.
‘‘I would like to see the Government extend research and development incentives and funding across all sectors including universities and business.’’
He said his firm was helped by having a senior Ministry of Primary Industries official in China, assisting with market access and compliance.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) has also released its wishlist for the next government.
‘‘For too long, we’ve commissioned reports and reviews on [the critical national infrastructrure] issue,’’ chief executive Kim Campbell said.
‘‘We need to take some bold steps to truly address what is becoming an infrastructure shortfall … We need to look at whether our resource management system helps or hinders in this process, and how we can modify it for the needs of New Zealand in the 21st century.
‘‘One of the keys to unlocking this is how local and central government intersect. It is becoming obvious that the current model does not provide the necessary structure, governance, funding and strategic oversight that these nation-building initiatives need.’’
The EMA also wants more focus on skills development, education and training and scrutiny of the Holidays Act and incoming legislation for pay equity.
‘‘We know that the Holidays Act in its current form is not working for many employers currently.’’