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Trade Minister Tim Groser.
Dairy Companies are commending Trade Minister Tim Groser for standing firm at last week's Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in Hawaii.
The ministerial level talks broke up without an agreement; talks between 12 countries collapsed on Saturday as negotiators failed to reach a middle-ground on access to dairy markets and intellectual property.
"What was on the table fell well short of the deal required to deliver the commercially meaningful access that is needed by New Zealand's dairy industry" says Dairy Companies of New Zealand (DCANZ) chairman Malcolm Bailey, who was in Hawaii.
Agreeing a bad deal would have consigned New Zealand farmers to many more years under the burden of heavy protectionism. Trade prohibitive tariff levels in Japan, Canada and the United States contribute to a thin global dairy market and exacerbate extreme price volatility.
DCANZ understands that ministers will reconvene later in an effort to agree the small list of remaining issues. Bailey is confident that it is possible to reach a successful conclusion to TPP, and deliver its targeted economic development and job creation benefits for all the countries involved in the negotiation.
"We are looking to the US, as the largest dairy exporter in the region, to lift the level of ambition in dairy market access. This is necessary to unlock the dairy deal," says Bailey
Dairy sits alongside autos as a remaining issue. For Japan autos represent an equivalent level of exports as dairy does for New Zealand.
"It's important that when this deal does conclude it's in a way which addresses the important export interests of all countries in the region. Only then will it achieve its objectives. A good deal is needed on autos, just as a good deal is needed on dairy." says Bailey.
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