Waikato Business News July/August 2019

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12 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2019
EU free trade talks close
in on tougher issues
By RICHARD WALKER
A New Zealand free trade agreement with
the European Union by the end of the year
looks unlikely as the EU grapples with
Brexit and other issues.
With the fifth round of
talks just concluded
in Brussels, senior
MFAT official Michelle Slade
told a room of Waikato exporters
that the tougher issues are
starting to come to the fore.
That is set to include the
thorny issue of geographical
indications, though the Treaty
of Waitangi exception to safeguard
the interests of Māori -
often dealt with towards the end
of other negotiations - has been
agreed up front.
Along with Brexit, the EU
has been preoccupied with
finishing a deal with the Mercatur
group of Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay and Paraguay, as
well as going into a change of
administration, Slade said at the
event organised in July by the
Waikato branch of ExportNZ.
That means concluding
an agreement this year as
originally planned is looking
increasingly unlikely.
Slade described the EU as
the “big missing link” in New
Zealand’s FTA framework, and
the numbers suggest the potential
benefits are large.
The EU is New Zealand’s
third largest trading partner
after China and Australia, with
$23 billion in two way trade in
2018. Minus the UK, two-way
trade with continental EU will
still be $15 billion a year.
When it comes to services
trade, the EU is second largest
for New Zealand, and in 2018
the EU accounted for more than
14 percent of New Zealand's
total trade.
The EU agreement, once
concluded, will mean around
65 percent of New Zealand’s
trade would be covered by preferential
and improved free trade
agreements, Slade said.
She said agricultural market
access was an important objective
for New Zealand, with a lot
of trade currently under quite
restricted quota conditions.
“That is something we are
seeking to address in the negotiations.
It is a very sensitive
area with the EU; they have
long resisted those kinds of
more open provisions.
“So we're not under any illusions
that that area is going to
be an easy one, but New Zealand's
objective remains seeking
comprehensive tariff elimination
for goods and seeking
ways in which we can address
the sensitivities.”
One of the trickier areas is
set to be around geographical
indications, most commonly
used for European wines and
spirits.
“Champagne is a very classic
example, where the geographical
indication, the quality
and reputation of that particular
product, is anchored in where
the goods come from, and is
able to be established as such.
“The EU has a very active
policy on pursuing protections
for its geographical indications.”
The system is elaborate
and not black and white even
for countries within the union.
Slade gave feta as an example,
with debates about whether
Denmark can produce a product
called feta or only Greece
can.
The EU is seeking protection
for around 2100 names in
its negotiations with New Zealand,
most of them for wines.
“We already have legislative
protection for wine and
spirit geographical indications,
but in New Zealand we don't
extend that GI protection at the
moment to food products, and
so this is likely to be a very central
and challenging part of the
negotiations.”
Meanwhile, Slade said both
the UK and New Zealand had
been clear since the Brexit
referendum that they would
look to negotiate an early and
high-quality free trade agreement
once Britain is in a position
to do so.
She said New Zealand had
been quick to establish trade
policy dialogue with the UK, as
one of three priority free trade
agreement partners along with
Australia and the US.
Significant progress has
been made on regulatory continuity
with similar agreements
negotiated to those with the
EU, ready to kick in once Britain
leaves.
There has also been discussion
around market access
arrangements. Slade described
that as a complex area, with
New Zealand’s access into
Britain governed for the past
quarter century by WTO commitments
made by the UK as
part of the EU. “You may have
seen some references in the
media to the way that the UK
would like to propose to deal
Michelle Slade said the EU was the “missing link”
in New Zealand’s free trade agreements.
with those, post-Brexit, that
give rise to very real concerns
for our exporters as to diminished
quality and quantity of
the access.”
MFAT has also been seeking
to raise awareness of potential
practical issues of trade disruption,
including issues like large
queues at customs checkpoints.
“The bulk of these practical
issues won't be New Zealand-specific,
they will be much
more to do with the requirement
in a no-deal Brexit situation for
each side of the Channel to be
doing customs inspections and
things that they haven't been
doing for 40 years. There's a
lot of potential for third parties
like New Zealand traders to be
caught up in that.”
Getting the most from
free trade agreements
Slade urged exporters in her
audience to access the ministry’s
tariff finder (https://www.
tariff-finder.govt.nz/) in order
to maximise benefits from free
trade agreements. It gives comparative
benefits under different
schemes and Slade said it
was worth keeping a watch on
because in some agreements
tariffs are phased over time.
She also said to let the ministry
know if there were concerns
over non-tariff measures.
“As tariffs at border
have come down, regulatory
requirements have become
more significant, and we have
seen in some instances non-tariff
measures have sprung up.
“In some cases, particularly
onerous labelling requirements
or particularly complicated
standards or the way they are
enforced can be more than you
would expect in that circumstance
and therefore something
we can take up. Let us know.”
Complementary is key: local companies partner
for beverage showcase
After a long and stressful
day at work, some may
come home and put
the jug on, while others might
choose to pour themselves a
dram and unwind.
Whether you find yourself
in camp tea or on team whisky,
two Waikato businesses have
teamed up to demonstrate how
the two beverages are more
alike than you might think.
Zealong Tea Estate’s blend
master Amy Reason, together
with Ash Parmar from Eight
PM, have pooled their expertise
and created a one-off tasting
menu which pairs select Zealong
teas with rare whiskies.
While each pairing will be
accompanied by a bite-sized
“flavour cue”, the menu is
unique in that the focus is on
two beverages, rather than pairing
one beverage with food.
Amy explains that pairing
the whiskies with the teas is all
about identifying the flavour
notes in both that will work in
harmony with each other.
“You don’t want to just
match up the same flavours,
rather identify flavour notes
that complement each other
and highlight the different complexities
of each.”
And with both kinds of beverage
boasting aroma and tasting
notes spanning from smoky
to floral and everything in
between, it is not a simple task.
Luckily, Amy has 15 years of
tea industry experience behind
her, and Ash has been in the
whisky business for 14 years.
The two will share their
knowledge during an event for
Father’s Day, demonstrating
how to taste, smell, and appreciate
whisky and tea like a connoisseur,
and highlighting the
reasons they have chosen each
pairing.
They will also give insight
into how provenance and production
methods can allow
these different flavours to
develop.
The featured whiskies are
from The Single Cask, an
award-winning label which
Eight PM is importing into
New Zealand for the first time.
“This whisky company has
an interesting concept — they
select just one cask at a time
from an independent Scotch
distillery and allow it to age
before releasing it at cask
strength with no additives, so
it’s whisky presented to you at
its purest form,” Ash says.
This results in rare whisky
expressions, a perfect match for
pure New Zealand-grown tea,
which is itself a prize-winning
rarity in the tea world.
For whisky-lovers or
tea-lovers, those who enjoy
both or those who are new to
either, this upcoming event is
the perfect introduction to how
the worlds of premium tea and
fine whisky intertwine.
Father’s Day Whisky & Tea
Pairing will be held at Zealong
Tea Estate on August 31,
6pm-9pm. Tickets include:
• Tasting menu of five Zealong
teas and five The Single Cask
whiskies, each accompanied
by a petite flavour cue
• Tea and whisky expertise
from the menu designers,
guiding you through
each pairing
• A selection of canapés
inspired by the tasting menu
A cash bar will be available
following the tasting, for those
who wish to further indulge in
their favourite whisky or tea.
Tickets are limited and
available now from www.zealong.com/shop
(under Vouchers).
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