Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Israel and Palestinian territories
From NZ Executive News Service McCULLY TO MIDEAST: NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully is visiting Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories for discussions on the Middle East peace process. He is meeting Israel’s PM Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas before going on for talks with leaders of Cyprus.
Groser on NZ Trade with China
From NZ Executive News Service GROSER ON CHINA: NZ Trade Minister Tim Groser said that NZ trade with China has expanded so rapidly since the signing of a free trade agreement that hitches have developed in some areas, and more attention needs to be paid to “the infrastructure of this relationship.” He cited the recent freeze on ...
TPP Countries Plan Two More Intersessionals This Month, Including Chiefs
The United States and other participants in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations are holding a series of intersessional meetings this month to try to advance the talks in light of their stated goal of concluding them this year. Chief negotiators, as well as the negotiating group on cross-border trade in services, are meeting June 16-23 ...
Index of manufacturing performance at 9 year high
Friday 14 June 2013 Executive News Service Ltd, Wellington MANUFACTURING UP: The Business New Zealand (BNZ) NZ-Business NZ index of manufacturing performance rose to a 9-year high in May, led by new orders and a lift in production. BNZ economist Doug Steel said this suggested NZ’s economic growth is increasing faster than realized. Machinery and ...
NZ-Japan Talks
NEW ZEALAND NEWS Monday 10 June 2013 Executive News Service Ltd, Wellington Foreign Minister Murray McCully and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, at talks held in Auckland yesterday, renewed the two countries’ commitment to strengthen their bilateral relationship. They recognised the importance of successfully concluding a Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement and welcomed the signing ...
Christchurch Rebuild Update
NEW ZEALAND NEWS Monday 10 June 2013 Executive News Service Ltd, Wellington Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today that the government is committed to locating several large government departmental offices in Christchurch’s rebuilt CBD. The news was hailed by business leaders who said that without such a commitment it would have been harder to ...
NCTO-Sponsored Study Predicts Huge U.S. Textile Job Losses From TPP
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) is stepping up its efforts to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by privately warning that a TPP deal which lowers U.S. tariffs on apparel imports from Vietnam and applies a cut-and-sew rule of origin could result in the loss of roughly 522,000 jobs in the U.S. textile industry ...
Congressional Efforts To Craft Joint TPA Bill Unlikely To Meet June Target
Although majority and minority staff on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees are in joint discussions on how to structure a new Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, it is unlikely that they will complete their work by the end of June, which is the target set by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus ...
Need For China to Show Progress on Cyber and Traditional Trade Issues
Ahead of a highly anticipated summit between President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. manufacturers are calling on Obama to deliver a forceful message not only with respect to cybersecurity issues that have received prime billing by the administration in the last few months, but also on those longstanding trade irritants that U.S. manufacturers ...
Round 17 wraps up in Lima
A joint press conference was held on the final day of Round 17 in Lima. Chief negotiators said they had achieved significant progress in the round, particularly in the following areas: SPS, trade remedies, e-commerce, cross-border trade in services, rules of origin and legal and institutional issues. During the round, negotiators also met with over ...
