Overview

New Zealand’s free trade agreement negotiations with the United Arab Emirates concluded on 26 September 2024.

The UAE is one of New Zealand’s largest markets in the Middle East, with goods and services exports totalling NZ$1.1 billion in the year to June 2024. New Zealand’s key exports to the UAE include dairy, industrial products, meat, horticulture and travel services. 

The UAE’s dynamic and high-value market offers significant opportunities for export growth and diversification for New Zealand companies and support the Government’s ambitious goal of doubling the value of exports in 10 years. 

The negotiations on a New Zealand-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) concluded in just over four months, making this New Zealand’s fastest-ever FTA negotiation. 

Key outcomes include:

• An important expansion of New Zealand’s free trade agreement network into the Middle East for the first time, providing new opportunities and certainty for traders.
• New Zealand will have the best-available access to the UAE market, with 99% of New Zealand goods exporters able to access the market duty-free, almost all at entry into force. This includes all New Zealand’s dairy, meat, horticulture and industrial products immediately from day one. 
• Complementing this is a package of trade-facilitative rules that will ensure exporters can easily take advantage of the tariff preferences, as well as on digital trade, non-tariff barriers, intellectual property and competition. 
• The CEPA will also provide our services exporters with transparent, non-discriminatory rules that will ensure a level playing field. Commitments on key sectors of interest for New Zealand, including professional services, education services, and the audio-visual and gaming sectors, will ensure our exporters receive no less favourable treatment to domestic UAE companies, and in many cases better treatment that that afforded to other foreign service suppliers.
• The UAE is a key export destination and hub in the Gulf region, and there are significant opportunities to enhance cooperation across areas, including agriculture and sustainable energy, aviation and maritime sectors.
• A Bilateral Investment Treaty, concluded in conjunction with the CEPA, will promote and protect investment, supporting economic growth and prosperity, while ensuring the right to regulate is protected.  Consistent with New Zealand’s existing policy settings, the Agreement will not contain Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions. 
• The agreement includes provisions that reflect the opportunities for Māori of the agreement, and including by reducing regulatory barriers Māori businesses may encounter. As with our other trade agreements, the Treaty of Waitangi exception is included. 
• Consistent with New Zealand’s long-standing trade and environment and trade and labour frameworks, the Agreement also contains a chapter on Trade and Sustainable Development, to promotes the interests of women and protects labour rights and climate change laws and regulations.