So if the US and Japan are looking dirty, why would any Government in there right minds continue with this deal? - TPP trade deal no sure thing, Groser New Zealand could walk away from a trans-Pacific free-trade deal if the US and Japan try to shut out Kiwi dairy exports, Trade Minister Tim Groser says. Groser was in Sydney over the weekend with trade counterparts from 11 other countries for the latest round of talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP). He has confirmed the United States and Japan were locked in private talks and, while that was not uncommon, he expressed concern that a deal might be all but sewn up between the two. Japans entry into the talks had been a double-edged sword, Groser told Radio NZ today. Its inclusion would potentially open the worlds third-largest economy to agricultural exports, but the Japanese were notoriously protective of their dairy industry, he said. That meant talks had largely stalled during the past year, while Japan and the US clash over the formers rice, beef and pork, dairy and sugar sectors, and the latters automobile industry. Despite this, Groser said progress at the Sydney round had been promising. I think everyones seen real progress here, he said. Its probably the most solid ministerial meeting Ive attended in the last three years. Were in sight of a finish line ... [but] that doesnt mean were necessarily going to cross it successfully. He said it was difficult to tell if Japan and US had shifted their positions in their private talks. All we know is that the United States and Japan - the worlds number one and number three economies - have been in intense negotiations, he said. We are told that they are making considerable progress, but we have enough intel out there to know the issues of most interest to New Zealand will always - as is the case with every single trade negotiation - be decided in the absolute end because theyre the most sensitive. The paradox here is theyve not been put on the table. This is a very discreet process in which each of the parties, including ourselves, meet informally and confidentially with the other 11 parties. We wont be shut out of any access thats there, the question is whether its a big enough deal for us to make an overall balanced assessment, to say yes, thats good enough lets move ahead. Groser said the deal was nowhere near a position for him to recommend that Cabinet accept it. Asked if anything being discussed could be a deal breaker for New Zealand, Groser said absolutely. We cant do a deal that would exclude New Zealands No 1 exports, which is dairy products - its 33 or 34 per cent of New Zealands exports. But I dont take that pessimistic view, I think we will be able to find a way through - it wont be the perfect deal. We have a negotiating position, weve said wed consider alternatives but were not there yet. - Stuff
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 19:53:15 +0000
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