This is the Global Britain agenda coming to fruition
SouEve - Daily Telegraph - 21/10/21
New Zealand’s economy was damaged more than any other by Britain's ascension to the European Economic Community in 1973. The UK had made up almost half of New Zealand’s exports. But then, practically overnight, substantial trade barriers were introduced. It has long been considered a ‘betrayal’ for Kiwis who had sacrificed for Britain's freedom across world wars and have a shared heritage, a liberal democratic culture and head of state. The turn towards Europe threw Kiwis out onto the garbage heap.
New Zealand responded by pursuing an ambitious free trading economic reform agenda. This led to a difficult adjustment period followed by an immense global trading prosperity. It’s therefore historically fitting that Britain has struck her second new post-Brexit trade deal with the island nation. Anne-Marie Trevelyan is right in saying that it is a win-win for British and Kiwi consumers and producers.
It will immediately abolish all tariffs on UK exports to New Zealand, including on clothing, buses, ships, bulldozers and excavators. It makes favourable rule changes that will boost British car exporters and financial and insurance sectors. It will make it easier for Britons to live in New Zealands, including for family members of those temporarily relocated by their work and by recognising professional qualifications such as lawyers and architects. It will also abolish 96.7 per cent of tariffs on goods imported from New Zealand, with the remainder on the likes of meat, butter, cheese and fresh apples to be progressively removed over 15 years. This will mean Britons benefiting from greater access to high-quality Kiwi beef and lamb, wine and honey.
We should ignore the loud, self-interested screeching from the agricultural sector. They are inevitably afraid of competition, and most Britons appear to disagree with them. Polling conducted by the Adam Smith Institute and CT Group found that 61 per cent of Britons want to trade more with New Zealand and just 3 per cent want less trade. This is driven by the belief, held by 69 per cent of Britons, that New Zealand has high standards of food safety and animal welfare. The polling has also found support for freer movement (63 per cent) and mutual recognition of qualifications of doctors, nurses and teachers (69 per cent).
The critics of the deal have pointed to earlier Department for International Trade analysis indicating minimal economic benefits. This modelling should not be taken too seriously. It was calculated before the conclusion of the agreement, before the details were known. In practice it’s impossible to know in advance the entire benefits of the deal. Nor does it even try. The modelling only considers the impact on the current economy, it does not consider the dynamic effects of the deal. That is, the potential for new links to be established, more competition to drive up productivity, and the relationships built through people-to-people links.
But that’s not all. The New Zealand deal is also a stepping stone to join the immensely important CPTPP, an11-country trading bloc which includes the likes of Canada, Mexico and Singapore. CPTPP countries include half a billion people and have a joint GDP of £8.4 trillion. This would open up markets for UK businesses across many important growing economies.
Perhaps even more importantly, the deal also marks an important milestone in the UK’s geostrategic tilt towards the Indo-Pacific, along with the recent AUKUS deal. New Zealand has come under fire in recent years for sympathetic posturing towards China, who make up almost one-third of the island nation’s trade. This may just be one trade deal, but it is a leap forward for Global Britain.
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