Policy paper

UK-New Zealand free trade agreement Joint Committee ministerial statement

Published 11 June 2024

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

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UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch and New Zealand Minister for Trade Hon Todd McClay met virtually on 8 May to discuss the United Kingdom-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, one year after its entry into force.

The ministers took stock of the current trade flows,  with two-way trade in goods between the UK and New Zealand totalling around £1.5 billion (NZ$3.1 billion)[footnote 1] between June 2023 and March 2024. Trade in services between the UK and New Zealand totalled around £589 million (NZ$1.2 billion) between July 2023 and December 2023.

Ministers discussed the increasing value of the services sector and its recovery in services trade post-COVID, and the work being done by New Zealand and UK regulators to promote services trade.

Reflecting on the agreement’s environmental commitments, the UK and New Zealand discussed the role of trade in combating climate change and other environmental challenges, as well as the opportunities to support the green economy.  

Both sides also noted the importance of opening up trading opportunities for all parts of our economies and society, including for Māori and women-led businesses and enterprises.  

Both sides acknowledged the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop and scale up. Ministers highlighted the opportunities for growth in trade in the wine and distilled spirits sectors.

Both New Zealand and the UK noted their work to support the use of digital technology through our trading systems. New Zealand is carrying out work to digitise the processes associated with New Zealand’s sheep meat quota access to the UK. 

The need to support SMEs and businesses in the area of customs processes and rules of origin was also highlighted.

Appendix A

Notes to editors

Seasonally adjusted figures covering total goods exports since the agreement came into force are sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This data covers up to March 2024.

Seasonally adjusted figures covering total services exports since the agreement came into force are sourced from the ONS. This data covers up to December 2023.

Currencies have been converted using the Bank of England average daily spot rate.

Figures may be subject to change following revisions to data sources. 

  1. Figures converted to NZD using Bank of England Spot Exchange rate. ↩

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