UK signs ‘one of our greenest deals ever’ with New Zealand

The agreement comes after months of negotiations between the two countries.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

UK exports to New Zealand will have tariffs slashed as the two countries signed a new trade agreement described as “one of our greenest deals ever”.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and New Zealand minister for trade and export growth Damien O’Connor will sign the deal on Monday, the Government said.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) said the trade relationship between the two nations, which was worth £2.3 billion in 2020, would be boosted by 60%.

Our trade with New Zealand will soar, benefiting businesses and consumers throughout the UK and helping level up the whole country

Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Tariffs will also be eliminated on all UK exports to New Zealand, with customs procedures updated to include digital documents and cut-time customs clearance of as little as six hours.

The deal also means professionals such as lawyers and auditors being able to work in New Zealand more easily, while products such as Marlborough sauvignon blanc, manuka honey and kiwi fruit could become cheaper.

General view of the Auckland skyline (David Davies/PA) (PA Archive)

The Government said the deal was “the most advanced agreement New Zealand have signed with any nation bar Australia” and heralded it as “one of our greenest deals ever”.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “This deal will slash red tape, remove all tariffs and make it easier for our services companies to set up and prosper in New Zealand.

“Our trade with New Zealand will soar, benefiting businesses and consumers throughout the UK and helping level up the whole country.

“Like all our new trade deals, it is part of a plan to build a network of trade alliances with the most dynamic parts of the world economy, so we set the UK on a path to future prosperity.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US, ahead of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly (Stefan Rosseau/PA) (PA Archive)

Last month, Ms Trevelyan said there “isn’t a downside” to the UK-New Zealand trade deal after she was challenged by MPs about the impact the agreement will have on British farmers.

Under the deal, New Zealand will be granted more access to the UK market for lamb exports.

The deal will see all quotas on lamb lifted after 15 years, but before that there will be a quota of 35,000 tonnes for the first four years, then 50,000 additional tonnes thereafter.

However, the quota will only be accessible once the existing quota that the country has through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of 114,000 tonnes is filled to 90%.

Officials have said Wellington currently uses only half of its WTO quota at present.