Executive Director of NZIBF Stephen Jacobi discusses NTBs at the Red Meat Sector Conference.
Auckland gathering of Asia-Pacific business leaders focus on trade, digital, SMEs
![media-release](https://www.tradeworks.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Media-Release.png)
Issued by BusinessNZ
31 January 2018 – The meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) being held from 1-4 February in Auckland will seek to advance sustainable and inclusive growth.
“Prospects for expanded trade and investment in the region have improved significantly with the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) now concluded. We now need to put in place the sort of business strategies that will turn CPTPP into a winning proposition,” BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope said.
BusinessNZ is acting as host organisation for the ABAC meeting which brings together business leaders from APEC’s 21 economies, along with senior officials.
Mr Hope explained that ABAC members, including New Zealand’s own Katherine Rich, Tenby Powell and Phil O’Reilly, will develop recommendations to APEC’s Economic Leaders on business priorities and concerns.
“ABAC has a full agenda and its work programme for 2018 will be kicked off in Auckland. Key topics include removing trade barriers – not just tariffs but also red tape, unfair standards and slow bureaucracy, as well as regulatory hurdles for services trade. Ultimately, ABAC wants to see a region-wide ‘Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific’.
“It is only by thinking about these issues together across the region that we will foster the optimal conditions for modern models of business such as global value chains, which offer important opportunities for SMEs to get involved in trade.”
“And of course, no discussion about future prosperity is complete without talking about how best to surf the wave of digital transformation. That will be a key focus for ABAC at this meeting,” Mr Hope said.
He noted Auckland was an ideal venue for the meeting.
“Auckland is a world-class dynamic, innovative and multi-cultural city, and is also deeply connected to our Pacific neighbours, including this year’s ABAC and APEC Chair Papua New Guinea. I am looking forward to showing it off to our visitors,” Mr Hope added.
The ABAC meeting and associated events are being funded by business supporters and the New Zealand Government (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and business sponsors. The lead sponsor is ANZ.
ANZ Managing Director Institutional NZ Paul Goodwin said he was excited about ABAC’s work deepening connections within the region.
“ANZ is deeply committed to growing links among Asia Pacific’s senior business community, including stronger trade flows between New Zealand and our trading partners,” Mr Goodwin said.
Other sponsors are Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), Douglas Pharmaceuticals and the Bank of China (NZ) Ltd. Support is also being provided by Fonterra and the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF).
New Zealand’s three ABAC members are Katherine Rich of the New Zealand Food & Grocery Council, Tenby Powell of Hunter Powell Investments, and Phil O’Reilly of Iron Duke Partners; Stephen Jacobi (Executive Director of NZIBF) serves as Alternate Member.
New Zealand will Chair APEC in 2021, and will host a range of APEC meetings that year, including the APEC Leaders’ Week that will also be held in Auckland.
REGISTER WITH TRADE WORKS
Register to stay up to date with latest news, as well as saving and discussing articles you’re interested in.
Latest News
NON TARIFF BARRIERS – “YOU ARE NOT ALONE”
Non- tariff barriers (NTBS) have a pernicious effect on trade. Sometimes it seems that just as tariffs go down, an NTB springs up! They can be hard to identify and even harder to address. The red meat industry, New Zealand’s second largest export...
INTERNATIONAL TREATY EXAMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PROSPERITY
SUBMISSION TO THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE SELECT COMMITTEE - JULY 2024 Introduction This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) and ExportNZ. NZIBF, whose members are listed at Annex A,[1] is a forum of...
Sourcing from the world’s factory – new research report into imports from China
There are very few strategic risks to New Zealand from our current levels of exposure to imports from China, concludes a new report from the New Zealand China Council, co-sponsored by NZIBF. Even if we were to diversify our sources, China is now so...
ADDRESS TO THE 54TH ONE STOP UPDATE FOR THE ACCOUNTANT IN BUSINESS – GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPDATE
AUCKLAND, WELLINGTON, CHRISTCHURCH, MAY 2024 STEPHEN JACOBI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM Introduction Thanks once again to Brightstar for the opportunity to address you today. I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person as I am travelling...
APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Joint Statement 2024
2024 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Joint Statement Arequipa, Peru | 18 May 2024 We, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT), met in Arequipa, Peru on 17-18 May 2024, chaired by Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and...
Business Forum welcomes UAE FTA negotiations
Media release, 7 May 2024 The NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) welcomes the start of formal negotiations on the New Zealand/UAE Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and looks forward to steady progress that will lead to the securing of a comprehensive...
Doubling our exports with zeroes…and ones!
The development of written language in the ancient world didn’t start with great poetry or literary epics. The catalyst for writing was the need to record the transfer of the ownership of goods from one person to another. Scribes did this by marking tablets of clay...
Asia-Pacific business leaders rally for robust global trade amidst rising protectionism
APEC NEWS RELEASE Issued by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) - April 2024 This week in Hong Kong, China, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) voiced serious concerns regarding the global shift towards protectionism and regional fragmentation, risking...
SUBMISSION TO THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE – APRIL 2024
NEW ZEALAND-UAE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF), whose members are listed at Annex A[1]. NZIBF is a forum of senior business leaders working together...
NEW TEAM FOR AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND LEADERSHIP FORUM
Media release, 2 April 2024 The New Zealand Co-Chair of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF), Greg Lowe, welcomes the appointment of Stephen Jacobi and Simon Le Quesne to the New Zealand arm of the ANZLF Secretariat. The ANZLF brings business leaders,...
NZ/EU FTA A BONUS FOR SOME SECTORS – BUSINESS FORUM
Media release, 22 March 2024 The NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) acknowledges the passage of the implementing legislation for the New Zealand/European Union Free Trade Agreement and looks forward to the FTA’s entry into force on 1 May. “This agreement was...
“MEAGRE OUTCOME” FROM WTO IN ABU DHABI – BUSINESS FORUM
Media release, 2 March 2024 Despite its overwhelming importance at the heart of the international trade system, members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have concluded their Ministerial in Abu Dhabi (“MC13”) with only a meagre outcome. NZ International Business...
To go or woe with the WTO?
We’ve been here before with the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The global trade body’s 13th Ministerial meeting (“MC13”) opens in Abu Dhabi on Monday 26 February, with Trade Minister McClay serving as Vice-Chair. In recent weeks diplomats, trade...
DCANZ – Agricultural Subsidy Distortions Must Be Addressed
23 February 2024 - Media Release by the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) As the world’s Trade Ministers head to a WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) is calling for an immediate capping of agricultural...
Asia-Pacific business leaders call for greater economic dynamism with people at the center of the APEC agenda
16 February 2024 - APEC NEWS RELEASE Issued by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), meeting this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, expressed deep concerns about the growing pressures of economic fragmentation and the risks...