Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay announced that New Zealand and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have negotiated a trade agreement to open up significant opportunities for New Zealand exporters in the Gulf region.
This announcement followed significant re-engagement with the GCC following meetings with GCC Ministers at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Abu Dhabi in February of this year. It delivered on an 18-year-long ambition for New Zealand to agree to this high-quality trade deal in the Middle East.
“This is the highest quality deal the GCC has done to date, and it's first with a significant agricultural exporter. It delivers duty-free access for 99 per cent of New Zealand’s exports over 10 years, and when combined with our recently concluded NZ-UAE CEPA, 51 per cent of our exports to the region will be tariff-free from day one,” said McClay.
New Zealand's and GCC trade is worth over $3 billion annually, with New Zealand exporting $2.6 billion in June 2024. This includes $1.8 billion in dairy, $260 million in red meat, $72 million in horticulture, and $70 million in travel and tourism services.
The agreement included provisions to facilitate business, such as preferential access for primary sector exporters, streamlined customs processes, reduced trade barriers, and commitments to level the playing field for Kiwi services businesses entering the market.
The agreement also included chapters and provisions on intellectual property, transparency and trade, sustainable development, including labour standards, climate, and women’s economic empowerment, and it commits to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
New Zealand has also secured its Treaty of Waitangi exception to allow it to meet treaty obligations.
This agreement complemented the NZ-UAE CEPA that was announced in September, and together, they represent an important milestone in the Government’s efforts to grow international connections and double exports by value in 10 years.
“Successfully concluding a trade agreement with the GCC has been a long-standing ambition for successive governments for almost two decades. Growing New Zealand’s trade relationships is part of our plan to grow the economy, lift incomes for Kiwis, and create jobs.”
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