O'Connor DamienUNITED KINGDOM FREE TRADE AGREEMENT LEGISLATION BILLFirst ReadingHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister for Trade and Export Growth): I present a legislative statement on the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Bill. I move that the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Bill now be read a first time. I nominate the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee to consider the bill and at the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 13 October 2002 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Order! May I ask the Minister to present the full name of the bill first please—including the term Legislation". Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: I present the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement—NZ-UK FTA—Bill to the House. Hon Member: "Legislation Bill".Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Legislation Bill to the House. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Thank you. Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Thank you Madam Speaker. I apologise for the procedural inconsistency there. Can I say that I also intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 13 October 2002—22—and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 193 195 and 196. Concluding a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the UK has been one of the key priorities—Hon Todd McClay: Point of order Madam Speaker. I'm sorry to interrupt the Minister—I know he's reading—but could he clarify that date again? I thought he said "2002" and then "22" afterwards. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): I'm sorry Minister. If we could just begin from the beginning where you present the legislative statement and then I say my bit because there are some words there that have not been presented. Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Madam Speaker look thank you very much. I present a legislative statement on the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Bill—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): "Legislation Bill". Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: —Legislation Bill—thank you very much. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website. Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Thank you Madam Speaker. I move That the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Bill Legislation Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 13 October 2022 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 193 195 and 196. Concluding an FTA with the UK has been one of the key priorities for the Government's trade recovery strategy. The UK was our seventh-largest trading partner pre-COVID with two-way trade of over $6 billion for the year to March 2022. The New Zealand - UK FTA signed in February this year will support New Zealand's efforts to diversify our trade and deliver preferential access to the UK's $3 trillion consumer market with over 67 million people for the first time in nearly 50 years since the UK entered the European Community in 1973. Conclusion of this FTA is furthermore an important stepping stone for the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The relationship between New Zealand and the United Kingdom is deep and broad. It is a partnership grounded in common traditions experiences and values strengthened and maintained by deep people-to-people links and made relevant by a close cooperation across the entire spectrum of engagement: economic health science and innovation sport defence and security. Negotiations on the FTA were launched in June 2020 with negotiations occurring to a very large extent by virtual meetings against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. We reached a significant milestone on 20 October 2021 when New Zealand and the UK reached agreement in principle which confirmed the parameters of the deal and set out the terms on which the text was concluded over subsequent months with signature occurring in London in late February. I'm very pleased to say that our relationship with the United Kingdom is further strengthened by a gold-standard free-trade agreement. With the agreement now signed both sides are working to bring the FTA and its benefits into force as soon as possible—ideally by the end of 2022. Despite the challenges of negotiating during the pandemic this is a comprehensive and ambitious free-trade agreement that sets high-quality precedents in international trade rules. The FTA will create the conditions for New Zealand trade to grow particularly in the areas where it has previously been constrained due to very high tariffs—such as beef and dairy—and in new innovative areas such as gaming and fintech. It comes at a time when our societies are calling for different and better trade agreements that deliver for the environment for small and medium enterprises for women and in New Zealand's case for Māori. I'm proud to say that this FTA building off our Trade For All agenda delivers in all these areas for New Zealand. The market access package we've agreed is one of the very best New Zealand has secured in a free-trade agreement. We have secured immediate comprehensive and commercially meaningful access for New Zealand exporters and businesses including for our primary sector. The UK will eliminate all tariffs on New Zealand exports with duties removed on 99.5 percent of our current trade from entry into force. Comprehensive tariff elimination will translate into savings of approximately $37 million each year on our goods exports. Overall the deal will provide a boost to New Zealand's GDP of between $700 million and $1 billion. Exports to the UK are projected to grow by over 50 percent once the FTA is fully implemented. The deal includes new guarantees of market access and more certainty for our services exporters and investors and for Kiwi businesses wanting to access the UK Government's procurement market. It will establish a level playing field for New Zealand businesses operating and investing in the UK. We've also agreed to cooperate with the UK in a range of areas including in digital trade to assist our growing tech sector. This is the second FTA that New Zealand has negotiated that includes a specific chapter on Māori interests. In a strong signal of the importance of Māori interests to New Zealand the agreement contains the broadest set of outcomes for Māori that New Zealand has negotiated in an FTA recognising the importance that Māori place on this agreement. This includes prioritisation of early tariff elimination on a range of goods of interest to Māori the inclusion of Māori perspectives and concepts in the environment chapter and a Māori trade and economic cooperation chapter that will create a platform for cooperation on a range of issues important to Māori. Importantly the preamble to the FTA recognises the unique relationship between Māori and British Crown as an original signatory to Te Tiriti o Waitangi—the Treaty of Waitangi. This FTA includes the most far-reaching commitments New Zealand has ever negotiated on trade and the environment. This includes concrete steps to eliminate subsidies on fossil fuels new prohibitions to combat overfishing and specific articles on climate change biodiversity and sustainable forestry. The environment chapter will also prioritise the elimination of tariffs on over 290 environmentally beneficial products the largest such list agreed in any FTA to date. This is the first FTA launched and concluded under New Zealand's Trade For All agenda. Trade For All principles and priorities were embedded in New Zealand's approach to the negotiations from the outset and are clearly reflected in the final outcomes. We have set new levels of ambition and inclusion and sustainable trade including new chapters on trade and gender equality to support women's economic empowerment and on consumer protection; outcomes reflecting Māori interests including trade and economic cooperation; and outcomes on trade and development small and medium enterprises trade and labour and anti-corruption. In addition the UK FTA does not constrain the New Zealand Government's right to regulate for legitimate public policy purposes. As with all FTAs since 2001 this agreement includes New Zealand's Treaty of Waitangi exception. That ensures that nothing in the FTA would prevent the New Zealand Government from meeting its obligations to Māori. Given the difficulties both of COVID-19 and the challenges to the international trading system the achievement of this gold-standard deal cannot be overstated and it speaks to New Zealand's long history of negotiating high-quality and inclusive agreements. This FTA sends an important signal of New Zealand's openness to trade and our ability and commitment to progress and conclude trade agreements that deliver for New Zealand. This includes our latest free-trade agreement with the European Union one of our largest trading partners for which an FTA has been a longstanding trade priority of successive New Zealand Governments. Prime Minister Ardern and European Commission President von der Leyen announced conclusion of these negotiations just a few weeks ago on 30 June. The New Zealand - European Union free-trade agreement will create significant new opportunities for New Zealand exporters into a market of 450 million consumers in which two-way goods and services trade was already $17.5 billion in 2021. Importantly the deal helps level the playing field in sectors that have been to date at a disadvantage against many of our key competitors. From day one of the agreement entering into force there will be tariff savings of around $100 million per year on New Zealand's goods trade to the EU and the potential for up to $1.8 billion per year in extra export revenue in the EU once the deal is fully in effect. I'd just like to acknowledge the good work done by negotiators in both of those agreements but particularly in the UK in a virtual world where technical issues of trade that are always complex were worked through to the point where this trade agreement is a successful one for both the UK and for New Zealand. I'd like to acknowledge the outstanding work of our trade negotiation team on both the UK and the EU agreements. I'd like to thank the Prime Minister for her commitment to this and for being ready to step in and connect with any international leaders that should help us in this direction. Our trade recovery strategy drives our economic strategy and that has benefits for New Zealand but also benefits for all New Zealanders. We've done a good deal here—we've done two good deals here—and New Zealanders will be the beneficiaries for generations to come. With that I'd like to acknowledge as I say the work of everyone involved. Kia ora. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Thank you Minister. The question is that the motion be agreed to."