News:
New Zealand’s free trade agreement upgrade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia has been signed in Indonesia today by Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Rino Tirikatene.
The upgrade to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) further boosts New Zealand’s already significant economic and trading ties with ASEAN and cuts red tape and costs on businesses.
Collectively as a bloc, ASEAN is New Zealand’s third largest goods export market, with our exports to ASEAN growing over 50% in the last two years and totalling $9.66 billion in 2022. We now trade more with ASEAN in a week than we did in a year in the early 1970s.
The Upgrade brings elements of the original agreement into line with more recent FTAs. In a first for any ASEAN agreement, the upgrade introduces a framework for cooperation on sustainable trade issues, including the environment, labour standards, and women’s economic empowerment.
The benefits of the AANZFTA Upgrade include improved conditions for investors and service providers, more streamlined customs procedures, and commitments to support the flow of essential goods in times of crisis. Recognising the huge increase in digital trade, the upgrade also introduces stronger e-commerce rules that aim to increase consumer protection and support the wider use of e-invoicing, and remove unnecessary barriers to the cross-border transfer of business information.
The upgrade will help secure and further deepen New Zealand’s trade ties to the ASEAN region.
The AANZFTA upgrade will enter into force in 2024. Find out more.
Read the Joint Statement(external link) agreed by AANZFTA economies.