 CEP with Hong Kong to Go Ahead
(New Zealand) - December 2009
New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, announced the conclusion of a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEP) with Hong Kong during the APEC Leaders Meeting in Singapore last month. Hong Kong is currently New Zealand's ninth largest export market and trade has steadily increased over the past decade to NZ$823 million.
"Hong Kong is an extremely sophisticated market and its proximity, and special relationship with Mainland China makes it a very important strategic partner for us in the region," says Minister of Trade, Tim Groser. "The agreement further enhances New Zealand's economic integration with the region through our existing high quality free trade agreements with Thailand, Singapore, China, ASEAN and most recently Malaysia."
New Zealand and Hong Kong entered into discussions in 2001, but talks were suspended in late-2002 after five rounds of negotiations. As an economy with applied tariffs at zero, Hong Kong doesn't offer the usual gains. However, New Zealand was interested in getting Hong Kong to bind tariffs and commit to cooperation in other areas, such as services, investment and customs, to help facilitate trade flows between the two countries.
The CEP with Hong Kong is expected to be formally signed and the details released in early-2010, following legal verification and completion of the domestic approval process.
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