NZ business leaders urge US to review tariffs
New Zealand’s top business leaders are urging the US Administration to review “unjustified and discriminatory tariffs” imposed on Kiwi exporters.
NZ International Business Forum executive director Stephen Jacobi says the present FTA negotiations with the UK is depressing, with the same old roadblocks being put up against NZ as they were some 40 years ago.
He says the UK's agricultural sector has been mollycoddled by the EU's Common Agriculture Policy.
However, Jacobi says the UK is slightly different now because of Brexit and they want to be seen as a global Britain. But he ads they need to walk the talk about agriculture and trade liberalisation. He says the fact that Britain has negotiated an FTA with Australia is an encouraging sign that they may break out of the protectionist mould.
As for Europe, Jacobi says it's a case of the same old same as, the only difference being they have moved away from direct support for production.
"But they haven't got a market-oriented system for agriculture and it's still a highly regulated system where the market signals are all obscured," he says.
Jacobi hopes that issues raised in a recent discussion paper will stimulate conversations in the business community and government to find new ways to improved access for NZ products to overseas markets.
A New Zealand-first native tree study has highlighted the Bioeconomy Science Institute's position as a forestry research leader.
Hemp fibre processor Rubisco is relocating its core processing facility to Ashburton as part of a $20-$30 million expansion to leverage what it says is an accelerating global demand for sustainable and renewable fibres.
Tradition meets some of the latest in technology at the 2026 East Coast Farming Expo.
OPINION: Trade Minister Todd McClay and the trade negotiator in government have presented Kiwis with an amazing gift for 2026 - a long awaited and critical free trade deal with India.
Former Agriculture Minister Nathan Guy says he's excited about his new role as NZ's Special Agricultural Trade Envoy.
A pillar of New Zealand's horticultural industry, Dr Stuart Davis, was farewelled at a well-attended funeral service in Tuakau, South Auckland, on December 18.

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