Trade Minister Todd McClay hosted Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.
“CER is a gold-standard agreement underpinning $32 billion in annual trade. Minister Farrell and I discussed how we can continue to build on its success to grow trade and investment between our countries and improve conditions for our exporting businesses around the world,” Mr McClay says.
“We agreed on the importance of facilitating trans-Tasman trade, including through the work under way to strengthen the operation of the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement and enhance regulatory coherence.
“We discussed the benefits of addressing non-tariff barriers including restrictions on structural timber exports.
“We also had a productive exchange of views on how we can pursue our shared interests on a range of international agreements and issues including the WTO, CPTPP and other regional trade initiatives.”
The Ministers also met with a number of New Zealand and Australian businesses, facilitated by the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum.
“It is essential that we hear directly from businesses about what matters to them so that we can prioritise actions that make a real difference,” Mr McClay says.
The Ministers released a joint statement following their meeting.