Submissions called for on FTA with US ( Submissions close on December 8 )

For updates on the looming Free Trade Deal with the U.S. keep an eye on CAFCA’s ‘watchblog’  http://watchblogaotearoa.blogspot.com/

02 November 2008 –

Press Release by New Zealand Government at 3:13 pm, 15 Oct 2008

The Government is inviting submissions on New Zealand’s upcoming FreeTrade Agreement negotiations with the United States as part of theTrans-Pacific Partnership (currently called the P4), Trade Minister PhilGoff said today.

The negotiations were announced in New York on 22 September, following ameeting between Mr Goff, United States Trade Representative Susan Schwaband trade ministers from Singapore, Chile and Brunei (the other P4countries).”The US is the world’s largest economy, with more than 270 millionconsumers with a very high average income, notwithstanding recenteconomic difficulties,” Phil Goff said.”It is New Zealand’s second largest export market. Total trade with theUS in the year to June 2008 was worth $8.14 billion, accounting for 9.6per cent of New Zealand’s overall total trade. That means this deal isof huge significance to New Zealand.

“An American study on the impact of an FTA with the US, the BergstenReport, published in 2002, estimates that New Zealand exports to the USwould rise by $1 billion.”That figure is indicative only. With its membership likely to expandfurther, the Trans-Pacific Partnership will likely bring much greaterbenefit for New Zealand and the US. The strategic benefits to the US should win bipartisan support for the agreement and ensure that it isboth high quality and comprehensive in nature.”

In the current world economic climate, improving market access for Kiwiexporters, and the boost to growth, jobs and confidence that thisprovides, makes this negotiation and proposed agreement criticallyimportant.”The more favourable New Zealand exchange rate will also boost exporterconfidence. New Zealand’s export future however, relies not on cheapnessbut on quality and innovation.”Essential to this is the encouragement of research and developmentpromoted by both Labour’s 15 per cent tax credit for R and D and the$700 million Fast Forward Fund for the primary sector.”National’s promise to eliminate these policies is incomprehensible,”Phil Goff said.

“Our major exports to the US, dairy and meat, will benefit significantlythrough the removal of export quotas.”Horticultural exports to the US worth $370 million last year currentlyface tariffs of up to 23 per cent. They will also be significantbeneficiaries.”Fish and seafood, industrial products, metal products, wood, pulp andpaper account for more than $1.5 billion in New Zealand exports to theUS.These too will be able to trade into the US at lower cost.”New Zealand companies will also be able to bid for US Governmentprocurement contracts, worth an estimated $200 billion a year.”One example of facilitating new opportunities for New Zealand exportersis in the US Territory of Guam, where US Marines are transferring tofrom Okinawa over the next five years. This involves contracts of around$14 billion for work such as building and support services around thenew base.

An FTA with the US could allow New Zealand companies to bid directly forDefense Department projects.”Our high tech companies will also benefit. Christchurch-based TaitElectronics last week welcomed the advantages an FTA with the US wouldbring, allowing them to bid for US Government contracts, currentlyblocked under the Buy American Act.”Tait said this would greatly reduce the time and effort taken to meetUS regulations to export its radio equipment into the US. It would alsoallow it to bring its manufacturing base back from Texas to NewZealand,” Phil Goff said.”Public submissions are an essential part of a consultation process thatwill take place as the negotiations proceed.

The negotiations are due tobegin in March 2009, and are expected to be completed within 12 to 24months,” Phil Goff said.Background to the negotiations and an online submission form areavailable on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Website,mfat.govt.nz.

Posted by CAFCA at 1:06 AM

Labels: US Free Trade Agreement

Here we go… P4 arrangement negotiations are set to start in 2009 for a trade deal between New Zealand the United States and three other countries

Socialists condemn Labour Party’s Free Trade deal

Tuesday, 23 September 2008, 1:07 pm
Press Release: Socialist Aotearoa

Socialists condemn Labour Party’s Free Trade deal with the USA

A secret Free Trade Deal with the USA was sprung on an unsuspecting public, as the neo-liberal NZ Labour Party revealed both its contempt for democracy and its affinity with the blood soaked regime in Washington. However, the fact that this deal was done in secret also betrays the fact that such bilateral Free Trade deals are deeply unpopular with workers, despite being supported by most mainstream political parties and the craven

The support of both Labour and the CTU for the preceding Chinese Free Trade deal with the Butchers of Tienanmen Square has already resulted in disaster for Chinese workers. Fonterra gained a 43% stakehold in the corrupt Sanlu corporation, whose Managing directors are also provincial leaders of the murderous Communist Party. Sanlu ensured that the poisoning of Fonterra’s dairy products were covered up during the “scandal free” Olympics, which also saw the imprisonment of leading activists and the oppression of Tibetan and Uighur independence movements. For Fonterra, Labour and the CTU, human rights and democracy were not more important than making money with a Stalinist regime so ruthless, it would cover up the poisoning of its own children.

In contrast, socialists were on the streets championing Chinese workers rights and the right of Tibetans to independence. We also opposed the many wars of the USA, and campaign to bring NZ troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Socialists also helped to build the Global Justice movement which was a significant factor in the collapse of the Doha round and the World Trade Organisation. Corporate Globalisation has lost the battle for political legitimacy, and free market capitalism itself now faces a gigantic ideological crisis as it appeals to States to intervene and prop up its banks.
The US ruling class are caught in a blind panic. Last Monday they allowed Lehman Brothers (US third biggest bank) to go to the wall, the very next day they bailed out the world s biggest insurance company AIG. What we have seen is the biggest state intervention in world history. Over the last few days the World Bank and US governments have spent hundreds of billions of dollars buying up debts and bailing out collapsing institutions. This has certainly given them a temporary breathing space. But the problems of the system have not gone away.

The New Zealand economy now finds itself open to these rapacious forces which will be eying its remaining public assets for privatisation. Socialist Aotearoa will be to the fore in resisting any attempts by capital, foreign or domestic, to steal that which should be for the public good, not private profit.

Socialist Aotearoa
23 September 2008

Socialist Aotearoa

ENDS

New Zealand increases links with Burmese military

An expected free trade agreement with ASEAN nations will increase New Zealand’s official links with the Burmese military regime.

The ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) is currently under negotiation with the expectation that a draft will be agreed later this month. An announcement of the agreement is expected at the ASEAN Economic Minister’s meeting in late August.

Trade between New Zealand and Burma is limited (see figures below), and it is not expected that trade in goods will increase to significant levels as a result of this agreement. However, as the Burmese regime maintains monopolies on the export of most of the country’s products and much of the economy is controlled by the military, any business with Burma is likely to put money directly into the hands of the repressive government.

The agreement may also see an increase in contract work and service provision. A New Zealand state-owned company, Kordia, has previously done engineering work on cell tower installations for government-controlled Myanmar Post and Telecommunications.

CAFCA Campaign against P4 Partnership

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently announced the opening of negotiations with Singapore, Chile and Brunei to extend a two year old trade and investment agreement (the grandly named Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership – often known as the P4) into investment and financial services. Any extension into investment would certainly limit the Government’s right to regulate overseas ownership of New Zealand assets. What makes these negotiations especially significant is the announcement that the US is joining in.

Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) has launched a campaign against New Zealand signing any such agreement.

New Zealand Not For Sale Campaign

What do Free Trade agreements REALLY mean for New Zealanders?

Professor Jane Kelsey, School of Law, University of Auckland

July 30th 2008

Venue: The Horse and Trap, Mt Eden, Auckland

Listening to both major political parties, most media commentators and big business, New Zealanders would think that free trade agreements hold the key to our economic future. Few people – including the above – understand enough about them to assess their implications. Signing them is more an act of faith. And it has very little to do with ‘trade’ as we used to understand it. New generation agreements, like those signed with China and under negotiation with the US, basically trade-off future gains for Fonterra and a handful of other businesses for guarantees that foreign corporations and investors can plunder New Zealand’s remaining assets and resources without restraint. This is perplexing, when the same government has finally recognised that some strategic assets need to remain in local hands. On a larger scale, the frenzy to sign new agreements comes at a time when food shortages, climate change, peak oil and contagious finance-market collapses make the global free market model seem unsustainable.

Why is there so little discussion of these agreements in New Zealand? Does the China agreement mean there is now little point in opposing them? What would an agreement with the US add? How do we extricate ourselves from this straitjacket when we decide that these agreements aren’t really good for New Zealand after all? Jane Kelsey is one of New Zealand’s best-known critical commentators on issues of globalisation, structural adjustment and decolonisation. As an activist academic, she combines teaching and research with public education about the negative implications of ‘free trade’ agreements, especially on trade in services.

Jane is an active member of a number of international coalitions of academics, trade unionists, NGOs and social movements working for social justice. Jane is the author of many books and articles on the neoliberal restructuring of New Zealand since 1984, including the best-selling ‘The New Zealand Experiment. A World Model for Structural Adjustment?’. Her latest book on globalisation, ‘Serving Whose Interests? The Political Economy of Trade in Services Agreements’, was published by Routledge in June 2008.

What do free trade agreements with China and the US REALLY mean for us?

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Auckland protest attracts widespread international media attention

28-July-2008

Approximately 150 protesters braved miserable weather to express their disgust at Condollezza Rice’s presence in their city. Many wore orange overalls depicting victims of U.S. torture authorised by the empire calling for the closure of Guantanemo bay and the arrest of the war criminal. Outside government house, where the U.S. secretary of state was meeting with Helen Clarke, speeches were made and the stars and stripes set alight to the cheers of the crowd. Later in the evening it became apparent that protesters were successful in delivering their message to those inside government house with Clarke commenting on the noise being made by the peasents outside.

Individuals and speakers from various organisations took it in turn to climb up on the back of a ute carrying a loud speaker system and spoke of New Zealand’s collusion with the United States eschelon spy network, about past present and future trade driven U.S. invasions, about murder and torture in the name of “freedom”, about how it ain’t no coincidence that Condi is the only U.S. secretary of state to have an oil super-tanker named after her and about how the New Zealand government and its corporate leaders are happily assisting with all of the above.

Following a threatening pres.s. release by the ever-politically-neutral New Zealand Police, Auckland University Students Association withdrew the $5,000 reward it had offered any student who could manage to carry out a successful citizen’s arrest of the untouchable secretary of state. The Students Association at Victoria University in Wellington responded by doubled the reward, offering $10,000. Despite several hopefuls remembering to take their hand-cuffs along just in case, Police unsurprisingly refused to do their jobs.

So, what does this mean for NZ-US trade relations anyway?

The fact that the New Zealand press were allowed to ask only TWO questions gives us an idea of what a PR farce the press conferance at government house was, but if you take a look at this ‘United States Trade Representative’ website and then you click on New Zealand up comes a document called ‘2008 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers’. Funnily enough, here you can find a list of barriers to U.S. trade that the U.S. government would prefer not to be in place. A Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. would likely remove these barriers. Take a look at the document to get an idea at what’s at stake straight from the horses mouth. Its frightening what information they give us about this, just imagine what they’re not saying.

Images : [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ] Video : [ TV3 Video Coverage ]

Links

[ Aotearoa IMC Article ] [ 1,424 Articles Mentioning Reward for Citizens arrest ]

[ fightftas.org ] [ Protestoers brave storm & police to get message heard ]

War Criminal Visiting

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is arriving in Auckland this Friday night and will be having meetings in Auckland on Saturday with Winston Peters, Helen Clark and John Key among others. She will also be meeting with the US-NZ Council who will be trying to push for a free trade deal between New Zealand the United States. A free trade agreement will not be in either country’s best interest and we must continue to oppose the neoliberal free trade agenda.

She provides the soft public face for a host of aggressive, immoral policies to expand the US empire. For example she has fronted policies resulting in the death of one million Iraqi civilians in return for US control of Iraq’s oil resources and was a key player in setting up Guantanamo Bay, the United State’s illegal millitary prison in on foreign soil where prisoners are tortured. She should be indicted for war crimes, not welcomed to our country.

A protest march to her state welcoming at Government House will be held to tell her that she is NOT welcome here. This will be followed by a protest from 3.15pm outside the Langham Hotel in Symonds Street where she is scheduled to meet National Party Leader John Key. There is also a $5000 reward offered by the Auckland University Students Association for any student who places Condoleezza Rice under a Citizen’s Arrest.

Saturday 26th July

1:30pm at Auckland Domain cnr Carlton Gore and Parks Roads

3:15pm outside the Langham Hotel on Symonds Streeet

Bring noise makers, placards and banners

Partnership Forum Disrupted in Auckland – Neoliberalism Resisted!

Around 100 people marched down Queen Street to the Hilton Hotel to protest against the NZ-US Partnership Forum. The forum, which brings together representatives of the two governments as well as from major US and NZ corporations to work on tightening the economic and political links between the two nations, was moved in the last minute from the Auckland Museum to the Hilton Hotel.

The protests had begun earlier in the day with a picket at the road corner by approximately 20 people, during the time Prime Minister Helen Clark arrived at the forum. The main march began at Aotea Square at 12 noon, with protesters taking the street, setting off flares and chanting all the way to the Hilton. Upon arrival at the Forum venue, a stand-off began with the police. After a short period, a scuffle erupted when the police attempted to open one lane to allow vehicles to enter and exit the area, an attempt which succeeded despite some resistance from a number of people. Some time later the police made a decision to open the remaining lane and force the protesters onto the footpath behind plastic barriers. In the ensuing altercation, three people were arrested and several injured.

The protests highlighted a number of issues. Our World Is Not For Sale spokesperson Ryan Bodman stated that the results of a free trade agreement between the US and Australia have included “the degradation of environmental protection, particularly in relation to genetic engineering of food, the degredation of quarantine laws, an economic nightmare for small farmers and businesses, a huge increase in australia’s trade defecit with the us, reduced access to affordable Australian pharmaceuticals and threats to australian manufacturing jobs.” The same results and others can be expected if an NZ/US agreement is signed.

Links: Our World Is Not For Sale campaign | Protest Timeline | Our World Is Not For Sale Press Release | Pre-Protest Feature | Pre-Protest police repression | Protest Reports: 1 | 2 | 3

Images : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Video : 1 | 2 | 3

NZ Is Not For Sale!

This September in Auckland a high-profile meeting, the US-NZ Partnership Forum, will further talks on creating a free trade deal between the US and NZ. President George W Bush is said to be making an appearance.

A free trade agreement would allow US corporations to sue our government for threatening their profits. It puts all of Aotearoa up for sale to US corporations. Their free trade agreement will “remove barriers” to US corporate control. Changes could include;

• Privatisation of our water, schools and hospitals.
• Removal of our environmental and public health protections.
• End of local content funding for TV and Music.
• Banning labelling of genetically engineered food.
• End to government subsidies of medicines

This is your chance to tell our government to put people and planet before profits.

Tomorrow might be too late.