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Disclaimer: The information on this web site is issued by the New Zealand Debt Management Office (NZDMO) for informational purposes. It does not contain and is not an invitation or offer to buy or sell securities. Each page on this web site must be read in conjunction with the disclaimer at http://www.nzdmo.govt.nz.
New Zealand (continued)
Foreign Relations and External Trade
New Zealand foreign policy seeks to influence the international environment to promote New Zealand's interests and values, and to contribute to a stable, peaceful and prosperous world. In seeking to make its voice heard abroad, New Zealand aims to advance and protect both its security and prosperity interests.
Trade is essential to New Zealand's economic prosperity. Exports of goods and services make up over 30% of New Zealand's GDP. New Zealand's trade interests are well diversified: Australia, North America, the European Union, and East Asia each take between 15% and 30% of New Zealand's exports. New Zealand remains reliant on exports of commodity-based products as a main source of export receipts and relies on imports of raw materials and capital equipment for industry.
New Zealand is committed to a multi-track trade policy which includes the following measures:
- multilateral trade liberalisation through the World Trade Organisation (WTO);
- regional co-operation and liberalisation through active membership of such fora as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asian Summit;
- a focus on building regional relationships through various policy initiatives; and
- plurilateral trade arrangements such as:
- the Closer Economic Relations (CER) agreement with Australia (signed in 1984);
- bilateral agreements with Singapore, Thailand and China;
- the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement with Singapore, Chile and Brunei;
- the recently concluded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area negotiations;
- current negotiations underway with Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council;
- Closer Economic Partnership negotiations with Hong Kong which are expected to in 2009; and
- recently announced agreements with India and Korea to pursue free trade negotiations.
New Zealand remains committed to a reduction of world-wide trade barriers. Tariffs have been systematically reduced and quantitative controls on imported goods eliminated. Currently around 95% of goods come into New Zealand tariff free, including all goods from Least Developed Countries.
New Zealand was active in laying the foundations for the Doha round of WTO negotiations. Agriculture and services are of prime importance to the New Zealand economy and agriculture in particular is central to the Doha negotiations. New Zealand will be working with other like-minded countries to reduce barriers to trade in goods and services and provide improved market access for New Zealand exporters.
New Zealand, as a member of APEC, is committed to achieving APEC's goals of free trade and investment in the region. Asia-Pacific regional linkages remain at the core of New Zealand's political and economic interests. The countries of APEC take more than 70% of New Zealand's exports. They provide 70% of New Zealand's tourist visitors and approximately 80% of New Zealand's investment.
New Zealand is a long-standing member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the World Trade Organisation.
Environmental Policy
The New Zealand government recognises that sustainable development principles should underpin its economic, social and environmental policies both domestically and internationally. “Sustainable development” integrates concern for social, economic and environmental issues, taking into account the long-term as well as short-term effects of policy decisions.
New Zealand's low population and limited industrial base means that environmental issues are generally less severe than those in many other industrialised countries. Many of the big environmental issues for New Zealand in the first decade of the 21st century are also economic and public health issues. More sustainable use of water, managing marine resources, reducing waste and improving energy efficiency are all essential for creating wealth and quality of life as well as for environmental sustainability. However, the decline of the country's unique plants, animals and ecosystems is New Zealand's most pervasive environmental issue. Programmes are in place or under further development in all these areas.
More broadly, the Resource Management Act provides a national framework for addressing environmental issues, with local government having the major responsibility for planning and environmental approvals at a local level. The new government has introduced legislation to amend the Act in order to streamline and simplify processes and reduce costly delays for developers and investors while still maintaining necessary environmental protections.
A particular challenge for New Zealand relates to determining the most appropriate way forward in relation to climate change. This has both an international and a domestic perspective. New Zealand is a small country with a unique emissions profile as a result of the prominent place that land-use industries hold in the New Zealand economy. Particular challenges relate to abating agricultural emissions, which make up nearly 50% of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. New Zealand could be affected by significant climatic change and the government is therefore committed to assisting in the international climate change dialogue.
In 2008, the government introduced an emissions trading scheme for greenhouse gas emissions. The incoming government has announced that it plans to review the scheme.