TPP will grow the economy and create jobs

The NZUS Council has laid out the claim that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is vital to New Zealand economic success.

The argument was made today during the organisation’s presentation to the stakeholder forum, in Auckland, during the 15th Round of TPP Negotiations.

“New Zealand has always been a nation of traders, but we need a level playing field to compete in competitive world markets,” said NZUS Council Associate Director, Suse Reynolds.

“As a country, we desperately need to grow the economy and grow employment. More trade means more jobs.”

International trade accounts for around two-thirds of New Zealand’s total economic activity. In 2011, New Zealand’s merchandise exports totalled $48 billion, while service exports totalled $13 billion.

“These are big numbers, but we are not paying our way. We still spend more than we earn,” said Ms Reynolds.

“We can't prosper by selling to ourselves, we can't eat all we produce, and we can't produce all we need.

“Free trade gives us more choice. It helps to diversify and deepen our economy. It exposes our businesses to innovation and makes them more efficient, it attunes them to international markets and exposes them to high value customers.”

During the presentation, NZUS Council called on negotiators to conclude a comprehensive, high-quality and ambitious trade agreement in 2013.

Research undertaken by the East-West Center, in Honolulu, states that the TPP could add around $2.1 billion to the New Zealand economy by 2025.

“The United States plays a key role in the TPP negotiations and we encourage and support their negotiators’ ambitions as they begin to tackle the more challenging aspects of the market access negotiations,” said Ms Reynolds.

ENDS

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