Street Maryan: Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Street Maryan: Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:664;Page:12125] 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
: 
 I will highlight in the Committee stage some particular aspects of the Malaysia - New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Last night and again this morning we spent time talking about the general impact of this free-trade agreement on the New Zealand economy with some reference to specific sectors. I will continue some of the analysis of the specific sectors and then talk a little more about additional provisions contained in this free-trade agreement. 
I spoke last night about kiwifruit in particular but also our other primary products which will benefit immediately that this free-trade agreement is passed and ratified by this Parliament. Last night I spoke about kiwifruit in particular. Kiwifruit will benefit by millions of dollars immediately on implementation of this agreement and also will our meat wool dairy fish and forestry products. But today I will talk a little about some of the manufactured goods that will benefit from this free-trade agreement and give some numbers. As we know the tariff reductions follow a progressive sliding scale over a period of time through to 2016 when all but 0.5 percent of tariffs on our exports will have been reduced to zero. This is an improvement on the ASEAN free-trade agreement not only in speed but also in absolute numbers. 
For example steel is one of our manufactured products. That industry in particular currently bears a 50 percent tariff on exports into Malaysia. A 50 percent tariff is a very high charge. By 2016 at the latest that charge will be eliminated. Under the ASEAN agreement if I remember correctly some residual tariff—some 10 percent I think—will still apply on steel products but into Malaysia it goes to zero. 
It is similar for paints and varnishes. We often hear about kiwifruit dairy produce meat wool and all of those primary products at which we excel in New Zealand. But here we have a relatively small proportion of our manufactured exports into Malaysia which currently carry a 25 percent tariff. That tariff will be eliminated by 2016. Another area is plastic products. Currently plastic products out of New Zealand bear a 30 percent tariff into Malaysia—again a huge expense and something that really places obstacles in front of the New Zealand plastics industry as it looks to increase its exports. But in the case of plastic products these tariffs are eliminated in 2012. That is in very short order. We are at 2010 now and within 2 years there will be no tariffs on our plastic products going into Malaysia. There are gains for profits from our manufactured goods as well as from our primary produce. They are very tangible gains and these achievements in this free-trade agreement actually mean more profit remaining in New Zealand. 
I will draw attention also to some other features; I may come back to this one a little bit later in this part of the debate. The rules of origin in this Malaysian free-trade agreement are in fact as I understand it the most liberal of any free-trade agreement. That is a cause of some celebration or congratulations to the officials who have worked in this area. Rules of origin have often been a complex and difficult area to arrive at agreement on. I congratulate the Minister and the officials on achieving a very liberal rules of origin regime. 
I go to another thing that is very important. Members of the Government and the National Party like to cast Labour members as people who know nothing about business; who do not understand the contribution that business makes to the New Zealand economy. Well they may like to live in that outdated and outmoded perception of Labour but we are busy forging ahead. Phil Goff’s record in promoting sealing and initiating free-trade agreements recognises and demonstrates absolutely that the Labour Party understands fully the contribution of the business sector to the New Zealand economy. 
So apropos of that we have agreements in this free-trade agreement with Malaysia that impact specifically on business flows. Let me take a couple of examples. If we look at goods for a moment we can see there is an agreement that New Zealand goods will be cleared by the Malaysian customs department within 48 hours. Now that is hugely helpful especially in a small country like ours that is dependent on primary produce. We do not need our kiwifruit to languish even in refrigerated containers in a city a terminal a port a receiving area in Malaysia for any longer than they absolutely have to. So a guarantee that our goods will be cleared by Malaysian customs within 48 hours is extremely important. In fact Malaysia has never agreed to that before. This is new for them but it gives New Zealand exporters a potential edge over their competitors and that is to be welcomed. 
Another point in this free-trade agreement that relates to business and making business happen more easily into the Malaysian market is around business people so this agreement includes a recognition that people seeking to trade in goods and services—and investors—will be treated equally in Malaysia. There are provisions to enable New Zealand business people who seek to work in Malaysia to be able to stay and visit there for up to 10 years; there is no such provision as that in the ASEAN free-trade agreement. This agreement makes it easier for New Zealand business people to get a foothold to remain in Malaysia and to promote their business and New Zealand products into those markets in the Malay Peninsula for a period of time. That will allow for consistency and the building up of relationships which are necessary in order for that trade to happen smoothly. In addition the agreement includes a provision to facilitate those temporary entry applications of business people within 40 working days. 
So at every point this agreement has attempted to facilitate New Zealand business and business people operating securely and with certainty into the Malaysian market and all of those provisions are to be welcomed. Members on this side understand how important it is for business people not only to have access to foreign markets but to have reliable rules and provisions that allow them to trade and work securely and with certainty so they can plan that there will be some kind of longevity to their enterprise in those foreign markets. I welcome those provisions.