Summarised by Centrist
A still-unfinished India free trade agreement may need Labour votes to pass, while business groups are already urging Parliament to “get on board” before the final text is public.
BusinessNZ, joined by 28 other organisations including Zespri, Federated Farmers and New Zealand Winegrowers, placed a full-page open letter in The Post and NZ Herald calling on parties to “uphold New Zealand’s bipartisan approach to trade by supporting the agreement”.
The group said the deal would bring “reduction in barriers” and “unlock new opportunities for growth” across sectors including horticulture, sheep meat, seafood, wine, honey, wood products, machinery, digital technology and services. But the agreement, reached “in principle” in December, still needs Parliament’s approval.
Winston Peters has already said NZ First will not support it, leaving National and ACT needing Labour to help ratify the deal. Labour leader Chris Hipkins says his party is still waiting for “pertinent information” from ministers.
That makes the ad campaign more politically significant. Business groups are lobbying for support on a deal that key parties have not yet fully seen.
Peters seized on that point, calling the move “breathtaking” and “tantamount to … signing a contract blindfolded”.
He asked: “How they and the 28 other businesses and associations could have signed up to support the India FTA without knowing what is in it is an appalling commentary on them all.”
BusinessNZ replied that it had been “regularly updated by the Minister of Trade and trade officials with briefings along the way” and said it had “every confidence that this deal is in the best interest of New Zealand’s exporters and the wider economy”.
