The New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) welcomes the much anticipated conclusion of the New Zealand Korea Free Trade Agreement.

“This negotiation has been a marathon and we are delighted Trade Minister Groser and his officials have got it over the line” said NZIBF Chairman Sir Graeme Harrison.

Korea is a significant trading partner for New Zealand and a number of key export sectors including dairy, meat and kiwifruit stood to be severely disadvantaged if New Zealand could not achieve a more level playing field with its key competitors in the Korean market notably Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States all of whom have already concluded FTAs.

Sir Graeme said the negotiation had been difficult and all that New Zealand might have wished is unlikely to have been achieved.

“While we still need to analyse the content of the FTA, we are confident that officials were fully aware of New Zealand interests and have done the very best they can. Korea’s growing interest in joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) provides us an opportunity to seek stronger outcomes in those areas where our full ambition may not have been realised”.

The New Zealand International Business Forum has been active in Korea in recent years to assist the Government to secure this FTA, holding two Korea New Zealand Business Roundtable events with its partner the Korean International Trade Association (KITA).

“We congratulate both Korean and New Zealand Governments and stand ready to work with our partners to ensure this new agreement leads to new business and strategic partnerships across a range of sectors”.