Nash Stuart: Tariff (New Zealand-Hong Kong China Closer Economic Partnership Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Nash Stuart: Tariff (New Zealand-Hong Kong China Closer Economic Partnership Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13390] 
STUART NASH (Labour) 
: 
 I find myself agreeing with the previous speaker John Hayes because free trade is one of those things where one has to be in the game if one wants to be part of the new world era. This day and age of globalisation is very real and it will affect New Zealand. It can be seen either as an opportunity or a threat. If we see it as an opportunity and grab it with both hands as this bill has done then there is a real chance for New Zealand to go out to the world and be a world leader. In this day and age not just companies but countries are striving for competitive advantage. We suffer from the tyranny of distance; it is difficult for us to go out there and find our way in new markets. We need these sorts of free-trade agreements if we are to achieve sustainable economic growth. 
This bill is most important as are all free-trade agreements that come before the House. It is a short bill as the previous speaker alluded to although there is a national interest analysis that runs to about 58 pages. 
I must admit that I took slight offence when the speaker from the Green Party Russel Norman stood up and said that Labour passes any legislation that has “free-trade agreement” on the front of it without understanding national interest analyses. We understand national interest analyses. Labour members sit on the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee which deliberates on these sorts of bills. Labour understands free-trade agreements. We understand the ramifications the risks and the benefits. This bill is important and we very much support it because it gives our exporters an opportunity to get into markets that were closed to us or were limited due to unrestricted tariff barriers. We already know that Hong Kong offers duty-free imports for all countries but this closer economic partnership will ensure that New Zealand’s existing duty-free access is locked in for our exporters which will give our exporters an added certainty that competitors other than Mainland China do not enjoy. 
This bill is important for the future of New Zealand trade. We are an exporting nation. Exporting is the only way that we will grow our economy. We have a small population of about 4.5 million and if we want to rise up the OECD rankings which seem to be most important to some politicians then we really need to engage our export markets. 
We have the most favoured nation treatment which means that New Zealand service exporters have also secured strong future-proofing of our position in the Hong Kong market through the most favoured nation treatment and a ratchet clause which actually is not that bad. Most favoured nation treatment means that New Zealand exporters will automatically benefit from any preferential treatment that Hong Kong provides to future free-trade agreement partners subject to certain reservations and exceptions. The ratchet clause means that any future unilateral liberalisation undertaken by Hong Kong in certain sectors will be bound and committed to New Zealand. 
This bill is about New Zealand going out into the world and developing agreements and relationships with countries that it otherwise would not have. As my colleague Pete Hodgson mentioned this bill takes the lead. We can wait until all those multinational World Trade Organization agreements come into place but if we wait for them we could be waiting for a long time. This bill is a proactive response to what is happening around us at this point in time. 
We have a long tariff phase-out. New Zealand will be using the same tariff reduction schedule as the New Zealand - China free-trade agreement for imported products from Hong Kong. In order to help mitigate the potential for any negative adjustment effects associated with the phase-out of these tariffs the longest tariff phase-out periods apply to industry sectors in New Zealand that are particularly sensitive to imports from Hong Kong. So when a Green member stands and berates Labour for not understanding this free-trade agreement I take exception. 
As I mentioned in my second reading speech I do not think the National Government is taking this issue seriously enough. It is cutting the budget to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise initiatives that the previous Labour Government ramped up. I do not think that New Zealand is resourced enough to take full advantage of the effects of this and other free-trade agreements or closer economic partnerships or whatever you want to call them that are before the House. If we are to really take advantage of them the Government needs to fund them. The Government needs to understand that this is the future of the New Zealand economy. Thank you.