King Annette: New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement Bill — In Committee 
King Annette: New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:648;Page:17344] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Acting Minister of Trade) 
: 
 Today I am acting on behalf of the Minister of Trade the Hon Phil Goff who at this point is overseas representing New Zealand’s interests in further trade talks. But I know that he would want me to convey to the Committee his gratitude for the work that was undertaken by the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee in examining this bill which was recently before the select committee and for its recommendation to this House that there be no amendment to it. 
I think that members of this House have in the main worked very constructively on this bill knowing that it will have a major impact on businesses in New Zealand. It allows our free-trade agreement with China to come into force. The signing of the agreement with China is a very significant achievement for this Labour-led Government. 
Before the free-trade agreement was signed with China our exporters faced extra costs and charges when they tried to sell their products and services to the Chinese market which is a very large market for us. They faced tariffs of up to 20 percent making it harder for them to create the jobs and the wealth that can come from trade. That is because the Chinese tariffs on New Zealand products cost exporters almost $120 million a year. When it is easier because of this legislation for our Kiwi companies to do business we will all benefit. Our companies will be able to expand and hire more staff develop new products and grow our economy. The Prime Minister who has also been very instrumental in this deal which came out of our work with China said that the agreement sets a high standard and that it is a model for how two trading partners disparate in size but complementary in the products and services they offer can take a trading relationship to a new level. 
Support for the free-trade agreement has come from many many different quarters. For example the agreement is supported by the Council of Trade Unions the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand Federated Farmers Air New Zealand Fonterra the Hospitality Standards Institute Ngai Tahu Meat and Wool New Zealand the National Distribution Union Zespri Business New Zealand the Seafood Industry Council the Wellington chamber of commerce and many others. The agreement is widely supported by many organisations in New Zealand whether they are businesses organisations that represent our tourism industry or part of our union movement. 
The bill has two Supplementary Order Papers. One divides the bill into the Tariff Amendment Bill the Customs and Excise Amendment Bill the Radiocommunications Amendment Bill the Fair Trading Amendment Bill and the Electricity Amendment Bill and a second one amends clause 2 to state that Parts 1 and 4 will come into force on 1 October 2008 rather than by Order in Council. The Committee is about to debate the Supplementary Order Papers and the bill itself. I commend this bill to the Committee and once again I thank members for their very constructive approach across the political divide in supporting this legislation and the advantages that will flow from it for New Zealanders.