Yet another reason to thank Boris Johnson and be grateful that there remain a few visionaries about the place that want us to prosper and succeed.
By all accounts, our free trade deal with the UK is a winner. It's open and truly free, the hurdles remain few and far between. The gains we stand to make are enormous.
It's a tangible example of what we envisaged when we entered into the world of free trading all those years ago under the previous Labour govt of David Lange and Sir Roger Douglas. We are the free trade pioneers and we deserve this level of success.
This is where Boris Johnson fits in with his desire to set his country free from the restraints and shackles of the European Union. They are a bungling restrictive mess dragged down by their incompetence and weak link countries who outweigh the countries that make a net contribution.
If you want a comparison, count the days between now, having cut the UK deal and when we do the same with the EU. I doubt we'll be alive. But if we are, look at the fine print and you will not find anything as close to the deal as we have with Britain.
Australia, of course, led the way and we essentially have piggy backed on their successes. But what the deal shows is that the UK were keen to get on with life. Because of that, there was always a good deal to be got.
It's not just the deal, it's the importance of the deal, and the message in the deal. Free trade deals are not traditionally free, it's why we haven't signed one with india, it's why the United States is outside the CPTPP, they talk free trade but can't hack it.
We are so good at the stuff we are good at, the sheep, the dairy, and the wine, that when put on a shelf everyone else fades and folds and hence lobbies their governments for assistance.
Johnson, I am sure, will be taking heat from the British farmer who can't get out of their own way and are paid subsidies to grow nothing. Watch Clarkson's Farm for an insight.
People who are really good at what they do, like the New Zealand farmer, deserve the rewards of excellence, and this deal appears to be about as close to perfect as you can get.
Boris Johnson gets it, we've got it, and as a result we are both the winners.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings.
2 comments:
And this I would say is despite our present government not because of it. I am quite surprised that they didn't screw that up as well as every thing else they touch. But give them time.
Watch Adern and her Green left wing phonies throw obstacles in front of the producers, they hate seeing western free markets succeed.
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