Tabuteau Fletcher: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTabuteau Fletcher: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 30 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:3075. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.FLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First)to the Minister of Trade: Can he explain why he is “reasonably confident of getting the numbers in the vote” given the growth in international opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?Hon TODD McCLAY (Acting Minister of Trade):That is not actually what the Minister said. What Minister Groser actually said was: “I assume the professional political managers [in the US] would never have introduced this legislation unless they were reasonably confident of getting the numbers in the vote.” That seems to me to be a clear statement. New Zealand welcomes the progress made on trade promotion authority in the US. Its passage will be an important step in opening the door to the endgame for the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations but of course the passage of trade promotion authority is obviously a matter for the US Congress.Fletcher Tabuteau: Can the Minister deny that under the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement foreign corporates will gain a privileged position compared with New Zealand companies such as the right to sue outside of New Zealand law?Hon TODD McCLAY: Successive New Zealand Governments have concluded free-trade agreements with balanced investor-State dispute settlement provisions. They protect New Zealand investors abroad while safeguarding our ability to regulate for legislative policy proposals in New Zealand. We are taking the same balanced approach with the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The member should note that a fair and balanced investor-State dispute settlement provision provides certainty to New Zealand businesses that invest in other countries.Fletcher Tabuteau: Can the Minister explain how New Zealand will cope with the multimillion-dollar and even multibillion-dollar law suits given the growing trend by large corporates in very recent times to take advantage of these investor-State dispute settlement clauses in other free-trade agreements around the world?Hon TODD McCLAY: New Zealand will deal with that extremely well but I would note that there has not been a single case like he has mentioned ever in the history of New Zealand. Of course this is a provision that could well be negotiated in a trade agreement that is no different from other trade agreements that New Zealand has negotiated. Indeed the process is the same with this agreement as it was with the China free-trade agreement an agreement that was negotiated at a time that New Zealand First was propping up—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The answer has gone quite far enough.Fletcher Tabuteau: Given the Minister’s assurance and confidence would he be willing to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiations in front of the whole Parliament before it is signed by a select few Government members?Hon TODD McCLAY: No this will not be signed by a select few Government members; this will be signed by a select group of countries which will put the interests of their citizens first. We have always been clear when it comes to negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership that it will be signed by a New Zealand Government only when it is a high-quality agreement and it is in the interests of New Zealand firstly. Secondly the process being followed with this is the same process that was followed with the China agreement with one exception. The Trans-Pacific Partnership has been widely consulted on—one additional time than was the case when the China agreement was being negotiated an agreement that was negotiated by the Labour Government at the time it was being propped up by New Zealand First.