Trade Minister Tim Groser welcomes the arrival of over 500 negotiators from 11 countries to Round 15 of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, which runs from 3-12 December in Auckland.

The 10 days of discussions follow last week’s meeting in Phnom Penh where seven TPP leaders, including Prime Minister John Key, expressed a common interest to seek to conclude a high-quality deal next year.  Canada and Mexico will take part in the TPP negotiations for the first time, which Mr Groser says is a welcome addition to the Asia-Pacific trade table.

Collectively the 11 TPP economies have a total population of 650 million people and represent around US$21 trillion in GDP.  Mr Groser pointed out that TPP participants already account for around "38 percent of our exports and include our largest services and international procurement markets," and he is looking forward to progressing pathways for developing those trade connections.

He views the free-trade agenda as a key part of the New Zealand Government's mission to build a more productive and competitive economy that will help the country's businesses grow and sell more of products and services around the world, as well as create jobs locally.

It's Our Future NZ - a lobby group that has repeatedly called for greater transparency in TPP talks and tried to raise public awareness about the ramifications of an agreement - is holding a series of public lectures on the TPP over the next two weeks.

November 30, 2012

Source: RBG News

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