Australia and New Zealand Trade Ministers meet for CER talks

  • Joint media release

Australian Minister for Trade,Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP and New Zealand Ministerfor Trade and Export Growth, Hon David Parker, have met in Auckland tostrengthen trans-Tasman economic links under the Australia-New ZealandCloser Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER).

The Ministers noted the strong trade and commercial links and specialrelationship between Australia and New Zealand, and underscored theeffectiveness of the CER in demonstrating the advantages of liberalisedtrade. Two-way trans-Tasman trade totalled A$27.4 billion in 2017,with two‑way investment reaching A$148 billion.

The Ministers rejected protectionism and agreed on the importance for bothnations to continue collaborating to improve the work of the World TradeOrganization, as well as to strengthen the rules‑based trade architecture inthe region, to benefit both Australian and New Zealand economies.

Mr Ciobo and Mr Parker discussed potential opportunities and issues forAustralian and New Zealand producers in the United Kingdom and Europefollowing Brexit, as well as on a number of trade matters of bilateralinterest. They discussed progress in bringing the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) into force andwelcomed other economies showing interest in joining the Agreement in future.

Mr Ciobo and Mr Parker highlightednew opportunities for businesses in the trans-Tasman Single Economic Market andreferred to economic initiatives announced by the Australian andNew Zealand Prime Ministers during their leaders' meeting in Sydney inMarch. This work will further enhance trans-Tasman integration, including forsmall and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs).

Ministersaccordingly announced terms of reference for joint work on "Growing the DigitalEconomy and Maximising Opportunities for SMEs". This work will identifyareas offering the greatest potential benefits to both economies to provide new opportunitiesand boost productivity. Commencing September 2018 for completion earlynext year, the study will be undertaken jointly by the Australian and NewZealand Productivity Commissions.

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