New Zealand Free trade agreements in force Free trade agreements concluded but not in force |
New Zealand is party to 14 free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide. Together they accounted for over 70% of New Zealand's trade in 2023. [1]
New Zealand Free trade agreements in force Free trade agreements concluded but not in force |
New Zealand is party to 14 free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide. Together they accounted for over 70% of New Zealand's trade in 2023. [1]
Prior to the mid-twentieth century, New Zealand's trade was dominated by the United Kingdom which provided preferential trade quotas to her former colony. [2] As the United Kingdom attempted to join the European Economic Community in the 1960s and move away from trade with former colonies, New Zealand sought to diversify international trade. Following this, New Zealand signed its first bilateral free trade agreement in 1965 with the New Zealand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (later superseded by Closer Economic Relations in 1983). [3] When the United Kingdom eventually joined the European Economic Community in 1973, exceptions for New Zealand allowed the United Kingdom's preferential trade offerings to be phased out until the 1990s. [2]
Economic liberalisation in the 1970s made New Zealand into a market economy dependent on international trade especially in tourism and agricultural sectors. New Zealand has since welcomed foreign investment and has been praised as one of the most business-friendly countries in the world. [4]
Since the 1990s, New Zealand has pursued free trade agreements as part of international trade policy with a goal (as of 2024) of 90% of exports covered by FTAs by 2030. [5] [6] New Zealand signed bilateral free trade agreements throughout the Asia-Pacific region through the 2000s including with significant trading partners China and the ASEAN bloc. Free trade agreements have expanded in the 2010s and 2020s with New Zealand's participation in wide multilateral FTAs including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
New Zealand has bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements with the following blocs and countries:
Australia : Closer Economic Relations (1983) [7] 
China : New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement (2008) [8] 
European Union : New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (2024) [9] 
Hong Kong : Hong Kong–New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (2011) [10] [11] 
Malaysia : Malaysia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (2009) [12] [13] 
Singapore : New Zealand and Singapore Closer Economic Partnership (2001) [14] 
South Korea : NZ-Korea Free Trade Agreement (2015) [15] 
Taiwan : Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (2013) [16] [17] 
Thailand : New Zealand and Thailand Closer Economic Partnership (2005) [18] 
United Kingdom : New Zealand–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (2023) [19] [20] 
United Arab Emirates : New Zealand-United Arab Emirates Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (NZ-UAE CEPA) (2024) [28] 
Gulf Cooperation Council : Negotiations began in 2007 and concluded in 2009 but never signed. [29] Agreed to resume negotiating in 2022. [30] Signed in October 2024. [31] New Zealand is negotiating bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements with the following blocs and countries: [32]
Pacific Alliance: Free trade agreement negotiating since 2017. [33] 
India : India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement – negotiating since 2007 with the establishment of a JSG (Joint Study Group) looking at the feasibility of an Indian-NZ FTA. [34] 
Japan : Conducted a feasibility study in 2008. [36] Superseded as Japan joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Mercosur : New Zealand-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement. Negotiations began in 2010 [37] [38] [39] and ended without a deal before 2024. [32] 
Russia , 
Belarus and 
Kazakhstan : Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus Free Trade Agreement – negotiations began in 2010 [40] and were later suspended. [41] 
United States : New Zealand–United States Free Trade Agreement. [21] Negotiations began in 2008 but were ended in favour of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which the United States would withdraw from).
Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 189 UN member states. The three exceptions are the Central African Republic, Monaco and South Sudan.
The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local trade and manufacturing in all ASEAN countries, and facilitating economic integration with regional and international allies. It stands as one of the largest and most important free trade areas (FTA) in the world, and together with its network of dialogue partners, drove some of the world's largest multilateral forums and blocs, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States. In the United States, the proposal was signed on 4 February 2016 but not ratified as a result of significant domestic political opposition. After taking office, the newly elected President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from TPP in January 2017, therefore ensuring the TPP could not be ratified as required and did not enter into force. The remaining countries negotiated a new trade agreement called Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which incorporated most of the provisions of the TPP and which entered into force on 30 December 2018.
According to the U.S. State Department, relations between New Zealand and the United States as of August 2011 are "the best they have been in decades." New Zealand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.
The United States is party to many free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide.
The New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement is a bilateral free trade agreement signed between the People's Republic of China and New Zealand in April 2008. It is the first free trade agreement that China has signed with any developed country, and New Zealand's largest trade deal since the 1983 Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia. The New Zealand-China FTA was signed on 7 April 2008 in Beijing, after negotiations that spanned fifteen rounds over three years. It entered into force on 1 October 2008, after ratification by the New Zealand Parliament. The provisions of the agreement are expected to be phased in gradually over 12 years, fully coming into force in 2019.
Malaysia–New Zealand relations refers to foreign relations between Malaysia and New Zealand. Malaysia has a High Commission in Wellington, and New Zealand has a High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations and Malaysia is important to New Zealand for strategic, political and economic reasons, with both countries' leaders were engaged in frequent visits to boost their relations.
The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP), also known as P4, is a trade agreement between four Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of economic policy. The agreement was signed by Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand in 2005 and entered into force in 2006. It is a comprehensive trade agreement, affecting trade in goods, rules of origin, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade in services, intellectual property, government procurement and competition policy. Among other things, it called for reduction by 90 percent of all tariffs between member countries by 1 January 2006, and reduction of all trade tariffs to zero by the year 2015.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA) is a Japanese led proposal for trade co-operation and free trade agreement among the 16 present member countries of the East Asia Summit. All those movements and efforts were taken over by the following Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Singapore–United Kingdom relations, also referred to as British–Singaporean relations, refers to the bilateral relations between the Republic of Singapore and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations and are marked by historical, cultural, institutional and language ties, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, sporting tournaments, and significant trade and investment co-operation.
The free trade agreements of Canada represents Canada's cooperation in multinational trade pacts and plays a large role in the Canadian economy. Canada is regularly described as a trading nation, considering its total trade is worth more than two-thirds of its GDP. Of that total trade, roughly 75% is done with countries that are part of free trade agreements with Canada—primarily the United States through the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), and its predecessor the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). By the end of 2014, Canada's bilateral trade hit Can$1 trillion for the first time. Canada is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific countries of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The 15 member countries account for about 30% of the world's population and 30% of global GDP, making it the largest trade bloc in history. Signed in November 2020, RCEP is the first free trade agreement among the largest economies in Asia, including China, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.
The negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement were held between 12 countries between 2008 and 2015. The negotiations were aimed at obtaining an agreement between the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement parties Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand, as well as the Australia and the United States.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), initially abbreviated as TPP11 or TPP-11, is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. It evolved from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was never ratified due to the withdrawal of the United States. The eleven members have combined economies representing 13.4 percent of global gross domestic product, at approximately US$13.5 trillion, making the CPTPP one of the world's largest free trade areas by GDP, along with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, the European single market, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The United Kingdom and the present members formally signed an accession protocol on 16 July 2023, and will join the agreement when it has been ratified by all parties, or after 15 months if the UK and a majority of CPTPP parties have ratified it.
Vietnam, although a relatively young and small nation, has successfully established trade relations with dozens of countries worldwide. This is especially evident in the number of free trade agreements (FTAs) that the country has signed and is participating in. Being part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), economic opportunities for Vietnam expands beyond bilateral trade agreements, with specific countries in order to include multilateral trade agreements via the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).
The accession of the United Kingdom to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has been on the current agenda for the enlargement of the CPTPP since 2 June 2021, when the CPTPP Commission decided to move forward with the application of the United Kingdom as an aspirant economy. The United Kingdom officially applied for CPTPP membership on 1 February 2021. Accession negotiations between the UK and the 11 current CPTPP members negotiations were concluded on 31 March 2023. The UK formally signed the accession protocol on 16 July 2023. The UK and at least 6 of the 11 existing member nations will need to ratify the accession protocol before it takes effect. The UK Government expected the entry into force to take place in the second half of 2024. On 29 August 2024, the UK government announced the agreement is expected to enter into force on 15 December 2024, after securing the final ratification required for membership.
The New Zealand–United Kingdom free trade agreement (NZUKFTA) was signed on 28 February 2022. The broad terms of the agreement were concluded on 20 October 2021. It was the second trade agreement signed by Britain since leaving the European Union that was negotiated completely anew.
Australia is party to 18 free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide covering 30 economies.
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