The United States | New Zealand believes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) offers a unique opportunity to strengthen relations between the United States and New Zealand and to promote our mutual interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
The US | NZ Council is a member of the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP and serves on the Coalition’s Steering Committee. We support the Coalition’s principles, which call for a comprehensive, high-standard, 21st century agreement.
Today’s US-NZ bilateral trade relationship is delivering benefits to both countries. Our successful partnerships in such areas as regulatory cooperation, research, innovative technologies, security, and sustainability offer lessons to TPP negotiators – and a glimpse at the power and promise of what the TPP can deliver.
As the United States and New Zealand continue to play a leadership role in the TPP talks, the US | NZ Council urges all parties to complete an agreement that includes the following elements:
- Comprehensive tariff and quota liberalization, with no exceptions for any products, and no “roll backs” of market access granted under previous agreements;
- Rules that facilitate trade and strengthen supply chains through expedited procedures and minimal documentation requirements, particularly in customs provisions;
- Intellectual property rules and standards that recognize innovation in a digital age as the basis for growth and competitiveness, and that will lead to higher global standards;
- Regulatory coherence and simplification to encourage harmonization;
- Transparency and anti-bribery / anti-corruption measures to ensure fairness and equity;
- Clear and open access to government procurement opportunities;
- Measures to promote and protect inbound and outbound investment, including international arbitration of disputes between investors and governments;
- Small and medium enterprises’ accessibility to TPP benefits;
- Competition policy that allows state-owned enterprises and private companies to compete fairly, without discriminatory or market-distorting conditions; and
- Liberalization of services trade, including cross-border data flow and electronic commerce.
