Opportunities in the ASEAN region

To help New Zealand businesses make the most of several recent FTAs which shrink tariffs and other barriers to trade in Southeast Asia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and NZTE are running a free seminar Expanding Trade and Economic Linkages with Southeast Asia in Auckland on Thursday April 15.

The seminar will explore the trade opportunities arising from New Zealand’s agreements in the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) region including:

•  ASEAN- Australia - New Zealand FTA
•  Malaysia-NZ FTA
•  NZ-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership

The AANZFTA – or ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade Area – is an umbrella agreement covering the trade between 12 countries with a combined population of 566 million people and GDP in excess of US$700 billion.

The agreement has already taken effect for trade with seven of the ASEAN member countries; Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Viet Nam. Internal approval of the FTA is pending for Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia, but is expected to go through later this year.

Significant opportunities

“For New Zealand business the liberalisation of the trade of goods, services and investments to ASEAN markets presents significant opportunities,” says NZTE International Market Manager South East Asia Delis Aston.

“It will eventually remove tariffs on 99 percent of New Zealand's current exports to the four key ASEAN markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam, which will equate to an annual duty saving of approximately $50 million based on current trade.”

Unique to the AANZFTA, the agreement also allows originating goods to be collected between countries and used in the production of other goods. 

This means that New Zealand inputs, as long as they meet the originating criteria, not only gain preferential treatment when exported to another market  but those goods can be counted as part of the qualifying content for goods produced and traded between all the countries.

“This will incentivise companies within the ASEAN region to utilise materials from New Zealand in the production of goods.”

New Zealand’s exports to ASEAN already represent a sizeable 11 percent chunk of the country’s total exports to the world – making it the country’s third largest export market.

The ASEAN region has also become New Zealand’s fastest growing export market.

Director for Corporate and Grower Services at Zespri, Carol Ward says the kiwifruit exporter is looking to Southeast Asia as a major source of growth.