The European Union and New Zealand on Sunday reached a free trade agreement that Brussels said could boost trade by 30% within a decade.
The agreement was reached in June 2022 after four years of difficult negotiations and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it “ambitious, very measured”.
“New Zealand is an important partner for us in the Indo-Pacific region and the free trade agreement will bring us closer together,” she said from Brussels, according to Agence France-Presse.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hepkins said the deal “would open up fundamental new economic opportunities and be very beneficial to both parties.”
The European Union is New Zealand’s third largest trading partner, from where it imports wine, fruit and meat.
Last year, the volume of bilateral trade approached nine billion euros ($9.9 billion).
Brussels believes that EU exports to the South Pacific country can be increased by 4.5 billion euros annually, and the bloc’s investments in New Zealand can gradually increase up to 80%.
The agreement includes a sustainability section, the first of its kind in an EU trade deal.
Ursula von der Leyen noted that “for the first time in a trade agreement, we have included commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement”, which aims to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius.
“Through its unprecedented social and climate commitments, it promotes fair and green growth while strengthening Europe’s economic security,” said the President of the European Commission.
And the French minister in charge of foreign trade, Olivier Pechet, considered that the text, which “includes the Paris Agreement (on climate) as an essential element,” is a reference to future trade agreements.
For the agreement to enter into force, it must be approved by the European and New Zealand parliaments.
