fbpx
Print this page
Thursday, 15 July 2021 07:55

Same old story!

Written by  Staff Reporters
NZ International Business Forum executive director Stephen Jacobi. NZ International Business Forum executive director Stephen Jacobi.

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.

More like this

The Cook Islands squabble

The recent squabble between the Cook Islands and NZ over their deal with China has added a new element of tension in the relationship between China and NZ.

Trade chaos coming?

International trade expert Stephen Jacobi says there could be “chaos” if President-elect Donald Trump sticks to his plan to slap high tariffs on goods from three key import markets.

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…