Media release, 4 April 2025 The New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) has reacted with deep disappointment to the news that the United...
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THE NEXT BIG IDEA – THE SOUTHERN LINK
If New Zealand is serious about doubling export value in the next ten years then we need some really big, new ideas. Doing more of the same, not that there is anything wrong with that, is just going to deliver the same result. Enter an idea whose time has...

TIES THAT BIND – EXPANDING CER TO ASEAN
For New Zealand to pay more attention to the economies of ASEAN (the ten-member Association of South East Asian nations) makes sense, particularly at a time when doing business around the world is tough and when we need all of our international connections to deliver...

SPOTLIGHT ON SUBSIDIES
With much of the world turning inwards and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in a parlous state, it could be tempting to relax New Zealand’s long-term struggle to rid the world of trade-distorting, environmentally harmful and financially wasteful subsidies. Not...
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SINGAPORE AND NEW ZEALAND – A MOST “FTA-ed” RELATIONSHIP
Stephen Jacobi continues his posts from his Singapore sojourn. Spending time in Singapore reminds...

RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAINS – FROM THE 9th CENTURY TO THE 21st
I am spending some extended time in Singapore. This gives me the opportunity to see things...

AMIDST THE STORM: ABAC MEETS IN AUCKLAND
Perhaps a cyclone was after all a fitting backdrop for the meeting of the APEC Business Advisory...

A YEAR FOR RECONNECTING
As I write this end of year dispatch, NZIBF is preparing to host the first meeting for 2023 of the...

WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The now widespread use of the term “Indo Pacific” to describe the region to which New Zealand...

THE NZ/EU FTA IS LIKE THE CURATE’S EGG
In which we like the good parts of the NZ EU FTA…. Who remembers the curate’s egg? It’s when the...

FROM APEC AND CPTPP TO IPEF – SMALL STEP OR GIANT LEAP?
The US idea of an Indo Pacific Framework (IPEF) continues to gain traction but is not without...

NZ/EU FTA – BLESSED BE THE CHEESEMAKERS
Will the NZ/EU FTA ever be finished, asks Stephen Jacobi. In the Monty Python film, “Life of...

GUEST POST: “Imagine if… Building a new future for Indigenous trade”
Indigenous business leaders from the APEC region contributed to the first-ever ABAC Indigenous...
THE NEXT BIG IDEA – THE SOUTHERN LINK
SouthernLink is a big, bold idea we need to help double export value. It’s a concept that is gaining traction but needs more advocacy, writes Stephen Jacobi.
ADDRESS TO THE 55TH ONE STOP UPDATE FOR THE ACCOUNTANT IN BUSINESS – GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPDATE
Executive Director StephenJacobi gave a global economic update to the recent 55th One Stop Update for Accountants.
NZ/GCC FREE TRADE AGREEMENT – EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GULF
Big breakthrough for exports to the Gulf – a NZ/GCC FTA 17 years in the making.
TIES THAT BIND – EXPANDING CER TO ASEAN
Stephen Jacobi discusses expanding CER to ASEAN, based on his remarks he gave at an ASEAN NZ Business Council agri-business event, hosted by ANZ Bank.
NZ/UAE CEPA: A VALUABLE STEP FORWARD IN GULF – BUSINESS FORUM
NZIBF is pleased to welcome the conclusion of the NZ/UAE CEPA – a useful boost for exporters at a difficult time.
SPOTLIGHT ON SUBSIDIES
Agricultural subsidies by OECD members and major emerging economies have reached the level of USD 851 billion a year. They are not only financially wasteful, they are distorting global trade and impacting negatively on the environment. Some new research casts light on this perennial problem for NZ dairy trade. We need some creative thinking to level the playing field. NZIBF Executive Director Stephen Jacobi writes a blog for TradeWorks.
Address to NZ Apples and Pears Inc Conference, 30 July
Stephen Jacobi gave a geo-political, trade and consumer update at the NZ Apples and Pears Inc Conference.
NON TARIFF BARRIERS – “YOU ARE NOT ALONE”
Executive Director of NZIBF Stephen Jacobi discusses NTBs at the Red Meat Sector Conference.
INTERNATIONAL TREATY EXAMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PROSPERITY
Submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee on the International Examination of the Agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity
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.