O'Connor DamienREGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) LEGISLATION BILLSecond ReadingHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister for Trade and Export Growth) on behalf of the Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth: I present a legislative statement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Legislation Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: I move That the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Legislation Bill be now read a second time.It is a pleasure to move in support of the RCEP bill. Following the bill's first reading in May the bill was referred to the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee where it was extensively examined until early in September. The committee tabled its report on 3 September recommending that the bill proceed without any amendments. I want to firstly thank all those involved in this process from members of the committee to civil society and business representatives. Engagement by people representing various sectors and communities in New Zealand is an important stage for any bill but this is especially welcome for the RCEP bill in light of our Trade for All agenda. The select committee's report highlights that unlike previous free-trade agreements the obligations required in RCEP have predominantly already been met through New Zealand's existing legal frameworks and policy regimes. None the less in order for New Zealand to ratify RCEP and comply with our obligations under it the RCEP bill makes a small number of technical legislative and regulatory amendments. Other matters were also raised during the select committee stage and I will address some of these points throughout my speech.RCEP should not be viewed in isolation. A major feature of the current international environment is unpredictability. There are significant headwinds for global trade and challenges for our exporters. We've seen increasing pressure on multilateralism and especially on international trade. The system of trade rules has been under pressure on a number of fronts: protectionism increasing tariffs and non-tariff measures more overt geopolitical rivalries and after decades of sustained growth the beginning of decline in global trade. In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic the need for cooperation at the international level has never been so significant. We see the challenges in the distribution and access to vaccines and in the continuation of supply chains across the worlds and especially from the rise of new variants including Delta. As a Government we've prioritised both the response to the initial crisis through increasing supply of personal protective equipment—PPE—and vaccines while also maintaining access to supply chains for our exporters. But we also have been renewing our efforts to build on the trade architecture so as to assist the recovery. It is in the context of this challenging environment that diverse and robust trade relationships are more important than ever. They are important for the resilience of our supply chains and for the economic prosperity of New Zealand and our region. As a small export-oriented economy it is therefore hard to overstate the importance to New Zealand of a trading system which puts small countries like ours on an even footing with global powers.RCEP is not just an important achievement in terms of the outcomes for New Zealand and our economy but it highlights New Zealand's commitment to cooperation with other trading nations and our commitment to working with the broader Indo-Pacific region and ASEAN. It is no coincidence that all New Zealand's free-trade agreements to date are in the Indo-Pacific region. At the core of RCEP is the Association of South-East Asian Nations. It is an ASEAN-led agreement and a demonstration of ASEAN's ongoing commitment to regional economic integration and trade and it is important that New Zealand continues to be part of that. After all ASEAN has risen to become our fourth-largest trading bloc. When looked at as a whole the 15 RCEP countries are home to almost a third of the world's population. It includes seven of our top trading partners. RCEP countries take over half of New Zealand's total exports and provide more than half of our direct foreign investment. In the year ending December 2019 just before the COVID-19 pandemic started New Zealand exported more than $36 billion worth of goods to RCEP countries and nearly $12 billion of services. India's withdrawal from RCEP negotiations late in 2019 was disappointing. Although a fast-track accession process for India exists should it wish to rejoin in the future we value our relationship with India and we will continue pursuing our aspirations to broaden and deepen the political cultural and trade links that we enjoy.In the wake of the challenges from COVID-19 New Zealand exporters have proved remarkably resilient. Notwithstanding this our trade recovery strategy has three main pillars: retooling support for exporters refreshing the international trade architecture and re-energising and refocusing our key trade relationships. Agreements like RCEP are therefore vital as we accelerate our recovery from COVID-19. RCEP is critical to our trade-led recovery as an agreement that enables the reduction and removal of tariffs new investment flow opportunities and new markets for exports. The areas of services and investment are where the big gains will be made as well as the lifting of non-tariff barriers with China and the largest ASEAN countries having made investment and market-access commitments to New Zealand for the very first time. Exporters of sheep meat beef fish milk cheese honey and avocadoes to Indonesia the fourth-most populous country in the world will see tariffs eliminated on their products above and beyond the current arrangements. On non-tariff barriers RCEP creates an expectation that customs authorities will for example release perishable goods such as seafood within six hours of arrival including the release of such goods outside normal business hours which should reduce spoilage and save exporters money. The trade effects are material. About half of New Zealand's jobs come from the tradeable sector and over time the economic benefit to New Zealand from these changes will be considerable. Independent modelling predicts that once RCEP is fully in effect New Zealand's annual GDP will be between 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent larger as a result. That amounts to $1.5 billion to $3.2 billion in annual GDP.RCEP is also important because of its comprehensive nature. RCEP promotes economic integration and keeps New Zealand central to the prosperity of our region. RCEP demonstrates that even in challenging times Governments are able to come together make compromises and strike deals that will lift each other up. RCEP is more than a sum of its parts. New Zealand is a proud international partner and we do our part including by ratifying free-trade agreements promptly. Singapore has led the way as the first ASEAN country to ratify RCEP. China and Japan were the first non-ASEAN members to ratify. New Zealand's swift ratification could quicken the implementation process as well as demonstrate our commitment to our region and ensure that RCEP will help accelerate the economic recovery for New Zealand and other parties. Once fully implemented RCEP will be the largest trade agreement in the world. Given the difficulties of COVID-19 and the challenges to the international trading system this achievement cannot be underestimated and it speaks to New Zealand's long history of building diverse coalitions.RCEP sends an important signal of New Zealand's openness to trade and indicates our ability to progress other trade agreements. These expected benefits show why trade has been a central part of the Government's plan to recover from COVID-19. It is not just about more and better trade links but also about helping our exporters make the most of the opportunities in overseas markets. I'm honoured to be part of a Government that in turbulent times is leading the way to ensuring that New Zealand is a responsible proactive and engaged global citizen. It is also a Government however that does not pursue trade cooperation simply for its own sake. RCEP provides for future cooperation across a number of trade and economic areas. It preserves New Zealand's right to regulate for legitimate public policy purposes and it upholds the Treaty of Waitangi. It will create new opportunities for international trade and other economic benefits which will contribute to improving the wellbeing and living standards for all New Zealanders. I was very proud and honoured as Associate Minister for trade or Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth to be able to play my part in what was a long negotiation. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the officials who worked so very hard through many years to get RCEP over the line. Thanks to them it is now up to us as a nation to pick up the opportunities from this great agreement. Kia ora.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.