These NZ Alliances With Trading Partners Are Not Worth Missing!

Friday, 9 April 2021, 3:43 pm
Article: Kalkine

Summary

• New Zealand has recently bolstered collaboration with its trading partners - Australia and Germany.
• New Zealand has allowed quarantine-free travel with Australia, which is expected to deliver significant economic benefits to the nations.
• The NZ aerospace industry is getting a boost through the recent space technology cooperation with Germany.

No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international trade flows of New Zealand amidst overseas border restrictions. Amid supply chain disruptions. these curbs caused massive losses to the economy, previously generating substantial revenue from exports.

While trading activities are yet to completely return to their pre-COVID-19 levels, the nation continues to establish significant alliances with key trading partners. New Zealand has recently strengthened collaboration with its two major trading partners – Australia and Germany – via travel bubble and space technology cooperation, respectively.

Let us quickly browse through the key details and understand the significance of these associations for Kiwi Land:

Travel Arrangement with Australia

In a significant breakthrough, New Zealand has recently allowed quarantine-free travel with its biggest trading partner Australia, starting from 19 April 2021. It represents the first international border opening for New Zealand since free-flow travel was discontinued over a year ago.

The Trans-Tasman travel bubble will run state-by-state, along with a traffic light system. However, a potential outbreak of COVID-19 on any side will change the possibility of quarantine free travel between the two countries.

The government has unveiled three possible scenarios in case of a virus outbreak: continue, pause, or suspend. ‘Continuing’ will provide the green signal for travel, ‘Suspend’ would mean no travel in or out of that specific state, with travellers having to shelter in that region and face isolation for fourteen days, while ‘Pause’ would mean travel in a state on hold for 72 hours.

Potential Benefits:

The government’s latest go-ahead for a two-way travel bubble marks a new stage for recovery of the travel industry struggling to survive amid the pandemic. Tourism New Zealand recently highlighted that welcoming Australians back to the nation could stimulate a billion-dollar boost to the economy provided the travel bubble opens in the coming weeks.

All in all, both nations are anticipated to harness the economic benefits of overseas tourism as soon as restrictions are removed, given elevated levels of pent-up demand for international travel prevailing between these trading partners.

Space Technology Cooperation with Germany

New Zealand is creating a buzz in the international aerospace industry after 12 Kiwi organisations have been selected to work with world-leading experts at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). These organisations have been chosen to finalise feasibility studies for cooperation on space communications, propulsion & remote sensing technologies.

The government has allocated about NZD 900K in funding to the 12 space technology projects from MBIE’s (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) NZD 28 million Catalyst Fund. The fund is targeted at developing partnerships with overseas research organisations.

Potential Benefits

The NZ aerospace industry is getting a boost via the recent space technology cooperation with Germany, which is likely to bolster the nation’s capability, potentially resulting in joint space missions.

Notably, Germany has long been the nation’s most important partner in the field of science and innovation amid dedicated science & research initiatives. Besides, the European country is the largest EU trading partner of Kiwi Land, which represented NZD 5 billion in two-way goods and services trade in 2020.

The latest space technology collaboration with Germany represents a natural partnership to allow the nation to be engaged in cutting edge aerospace research. Besides, the unique competitive advantages of New Zealand, including its innovative thinking and geographic location, place it in good stead to drive growth in the aerospace industry.

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted trade while putting international supply chains under pressure, these alliances reflect the nation’s continued progress in strengthening relationships with trading partners. Going forth, the effective and speedy rollout of coronavirus vaccines is anticipated to remove restrictive measures with other countries, further fostering trade and other linkages.

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