New Zealand.
We are the pioneers. Well, the modern pioneers.
The concept goes back to the mid 1800's where Britain and Europe had various deals.
The GATT agreements of the 1940's made significant progress but the deal with Australia in the 80's put it well and truly on our radar and, along with Roger Douglas, Mike Moore made a name, if not fame, with the desire to do cross border business free from the impediment of tariffs.
For a while free trade deals had their time in the sun. They got, I thought, a bit watered down with block deals. The CPTPP is your classic example and even our EU deal is widely accepted as being inferior to proper one-on-one deals like China or now India, because when you get 27 nations together there is bound to be a bunch of protectionists in there.
India is also worth respecting because it's India and it's been a prize for many, many years. It’s the last truly large country and, not just that, but a truly large country actually going places.
If this country has an international calling card, it's trade. We box above our weight, we do business on quality, we buy and sell on a fair price and not a jacked-up protected price.
Within all deals you will find critics or clauses that aren't perfect. It's free trade, not perfect trade, and even a free trade deal technically can, and does, host tariffs.
But the intent, and indeed the outworking of them all, is that the business between two countries is better, freer and bigger than it was before signing.
NZ First are on the wrong side of this and the irony cannot be lost that its leader is a foreign minister who spends his time globally looking to engage and encourage engagement between countries.
Nothing encourages engagement more than doing business.
Labour said it's not the deal they would have done. Isn't it? What is the deal they did when they were in power? That’s right, there wasn’t one.
Successive Governments have failed to cross the line.
This, without a shadow of a doubt, in 20 years will be like China; big, bold, successful and constantly upgraded. We will all see it eventually.
But in the ensuing years since we were free trade evangelists, we've become increasingly myopic, if not racist.
Free trade is what we are good at. We should celebrate what we are good at more.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
The GATT agreements of the 1940's made significant progress but the deal with Australia in the 80's put it well and truly on our radar and, along with Roger Douglas, Mike Moore made a name, if not fame, with the desire to do cross border business free from the impediment of tariffs.
For a while free trade deals had their time in the sun. They got, I thought, a bit watered down with block deals. The CPTPP is your classic example and even our EU deal is widely accepted as being inferior to proper one-on-one deals like China or now India, because when you get 27 nations together there is bound to be a bunch of protectionists in there.
India is also worth respecting because it's India and it's been a prize for many, many years. It’s the last truly large country and, not just that, but a truly large country actually going places.
If this country has an international calling card, it's trade. We box above our weight, we do business on quality, we buy and sell on a fair price and not a jacked-up protected price.
Within all deals you will find critics or clauses that aren't perfect. It's free trade, not perfect trade, and even a free trade deal technically can, and does, host tariffs.
But the intent, and indeed the outworking of them all, is that the business between two countries is better, freer and bigger than it was before signing.
NZ First are on the wrong side of this and the irony cannot be lost that its leader is a foreign minister who spends his time globally looking to engage and encourage engagement between countries.
Nothing encourages engagement more than doing business.
Labour said it's not the deal they would have done. Isn't it? What is the deal they did when they were in power? That’s right, there wasn’t one.
Successive Governments have failed to cross the line.
This, without a shadow of a doubt, in 20 years will be like China; big, bold, successful and constantly upgraded. We will all see it eventually.
But in the ensuing years since we were free trade evangelists, we've become increasingly myopic, if not racist.
Free trade is what we are good at. We should celebrate what we are good at more.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
Mike, did Luxon slip you this on his morning fireside chat ?
I can't believe the author said it.
The same old tied rhetoric, propaganda, myth and bull crap.
"We box (punch) above our weight".
I see nothing to support that claim.
And as for "India as a prize"?
What, like some supposed crown jewel the British gave up?
Is cotton, indigo, saltpeter as valuable now as 100 a years ago?
This country has enough problems already with tribalism and importing another form of inherent bigotry / caste system will NOT help.
Very disappointing, Mike should know better.
If only this was actually a free trade deal. It seems like we’re dropping our restrictions for some partial reduction of tariffs
That’s okay, perhaps that all balances out to be a slightly lopsided trade deal. I don’t think anyone has much issue with that part.
It’s everything else
Increase immigration
Unlimited students with working visas
Unlimited workers for Indian businesses in NZ (no need to see if locals can fill spot)
And then the truely mad part - NZ business have a deadline of 15 yrs to invest $20billion USD in India itself. Along with penalties and clawbacks if we fail to meet this target …..
If this was the price tag for a little more access to the Indian market i am sure the majority of NZ would pass on this make believe “free trade” deal
Why are there references to the Paris Accord and the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people in this. India is signed up to the Accord but what interest have they in the UN promoting apartheid, and what do either have to do with a trade agreement?
The only reason I can think of is that they were put in for someone in N.Z. to use as leverage at some time in the future, we'll just have to wait and see.
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