Hon Tim Groser
Minister of Trade

8 October 2015

Further TPP information released

Trade Minister Tim Groser welcomes the release of further information on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“These fact sheets demonstrate what a comprehensive agreement TPP is, and that the benefits of the agreement go beyond reductions in tariffs,” says Mr Groser.

The first fact sheets issued today cover the following areas:

• Goods Market Access
• Intellectual Property
• Investment and ISDS
• Market Access for Services and Investment

“In addition to tariff liberalisation for New Zealand goods and services, New Zealand also stands to benefit from a reduction in non-tariff barriers to trade in goods,” Mr Groser says.

“For exporters, these changes mean less time waiting for goods to clear customs, lower compliance costs and more predictability around other countries’ processes.

“TPP will also open up greater opportunities to bid for contracts in TPPcountries. This means New Zealand businesses will be able to compete for government procurement contracts in TPP countries on an equal footing with domestic suppliers

“TPP also includes chapters on environment and labour that will promote sustainable development and higher standards of environmental and labour protection, says Mr Groser.”

The full TPP text needs to be legally verified, which involves confirming the exact technical drafting. New Zealand supports the release of the text before it is signed by TPP governments but arrangements are yet to be finalised.

Further fact sheets are being finalised based on the outcome of negotiations, and will be released in the coming days covering:

• Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Purchasing (Reimbursement)
• Government Procurement
• Labour and Environment
• Legal and Institutional
• Overview
• State Owned Enterprises

The TPP fact sheets can be found at http://www.tpp.mfat.govt.nz/#fact_sheets

ENDS

Scoop copies of fact sheets:
TPP_factsheet_GoodsMarketAccess.pdf
TPP_factsheet_IntellectualProperty.PDF
TPP_factsheet_Investment.pdf
TPP_factsheet_MarketAccessServiceInvestment.pdf

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