Happy Friday!

It’s been a busy month for kiwi exporters with border re-openings being brought forward. I know our exporters are itching to get overseas and will finally be able to do so without having to isolate once they return - to all those going offshore, I wish you safe travels!

More passenger aircraft also means more capacity for air cargo in and out of NZ. While we’re relieved that we’ll see more capacity, we’re also aware that cargo capacity won’t return to pre-Covid levels any time soon, which is why we are grateful for the extension to the Maintaining International Air Connectivity scheme until 2023.

We are also excited by the signing of the UK-NZ Free Trade Agreement earlier this month. The deal presents kiwi exporters with a wide range of benefits and plenty of opportunity to grow their trading relationships in the UK. ExportNZ expressed its support of the trade agreement both with a Press Release and in a submission to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Select Committee. We’ll continue to support the Agreement as it goes through the ratification process.

Finally, if you are obsessed with Wordle as I am, you might enjoy Tradle  – guess the country based on what they export!

Enjoy your weekend,
Josh

NZ-UK FTA

With the Agreement signed New Zealand has moved fast towards ratifying the FTA.  The process begins with consideration of the Agreement at Select Committee.  The submissions are worth a read, particularly the focus of many on intellectual property issues.  Intellectual property is going to be a big issue in the final stages of the EU negotiation.

We are not envisaging any problems with the ratification of the NZ-UK FTA at the New Zealand end.

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Changes to New Zealand’s Omicron response including gathering limits and dropping vaccine mandates for most workplaces is welcome progress, BusinessNZ says.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says vaccine mandates have done their job, allowing us to reach a 95 percent vaccination rate, "But with the strain Omicron has put on the workforce, it’s time to start reintegrating workers."

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For more information view the Unite against Covid-19 website

While Covid-19 may have put a significant dent in New Zealand’s trade with the United States in recent times, the overall relationship has matured and broadened in value and opportunity over the past 15 years, new research commissioned by the NZUS Council shows.

The Sense Partners report The NZ-US trade relationship: Stability and diversity in a time of change released today provides the latest stocktake of the New Zealand-US bilateral relationship from an economic perspective.

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MFAT has published a Russian invasion of Ukraine webpage and a Russian Sanctions webpage. These webpages will be updated frequently and kept up to date with the latest information.

Exporters can also use the MFAT trade barriers website  www.tradebarriers.govt.nz to register any issues.

Welcome to the sixth and final part of our series on the Māori economy in which we look at the future of business from a Māori perspective.

Nau mai haere mai ki te wāhanga tuaono ō te pakipūmeka mō te 'Māori Economy'. Ko tēnei wāhanga e kōrero mō te ā mua o te Taiōhanga Māori.

Most Māori businesses have long-term plans. Not 10 or 20-year horizons, but multiple generations.

Read more ->>

New Zealand’s goods trade has, by and large, fared relatively well through the pandemic. On the export side, this has been largely the result of strong performance by our larger commodity exports.

However, the aggregate story has masked weaker performance in other areas, which have particularly felt the burden of supply chain issues and restricted ability to travel.  

Services trade was severely hit by travel restrictions through 2020 and 2021. The easing of travel restrictions this year should mark the start of the sector’s recovery.

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