UK and New Zealand formally sign post-Brexit trade deal

The UK and New Zealand today formally signed a post-Brexit trade deal which could mean cheaper wine, Manuka honey and kiwi fruit for British shoppers.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan rubberstamped the pact this afternoon alongside her counterpart from New Zealand, Damien O’Connor.

The deal will see tariffs scrapped on goods heading in each direction which means consumers in both countries should see prices on products fall.

However, the deal has sparked a furious backlash from British farmers who fear cheap lamb imports from New Zealand could put them out of business.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan rubberstamped the pact this afternoon alongside her counterpart from New Zealand, Damien O’Connor

The deal could mean cheaper New Zealand wine, Manuka honey and kiwi fruit for British shoppers. The country is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling

However, the deal has sparked a furious backlash from British farmers who fear cheap lamb imports from New Zealand could put them out of business

What is the UK getting from its trade deal with New Zealand?

Tariff-free access for British goods: UK businesses sending goods to New Zealand will no longer have to pay tariffs on any items, reducing the cost of exporting. A tariff of up to 10 per cent on clothing and footwear will be one of many to go.

Cheaper Kiwi goods: Tariffs on imports from New Zealand will be scrapped which means UK consumers should see prices in shops fall. The price of favourite items like Sauvignon Blanc wine, Manuka honey and kiwi fruit should all be lower under the deal.

Red tape slashed: The Government said bureaucracy associated with exporting goods to New Zealand will be reduced significantly, benefiting 6,200 small and medium-sized businesses who already trade with the country.

Easier for professionals to work in New Zealand: The trade pact will make it easier for people in certain careers to operate in New Zealand. Lawyers and architects will be among those to benefit, paving the way for UK firms to establish operations in the country.

The UK-New Zealand trade relationship was worth £2.3billion in 2020 and the Government believes the new deal will see that number increase by almost 60 per cent.

The deal with New Zealand is the second major post-Brexit trade accord struck by the UK after it agreed terms with Australia in June last year.

The deals are viewed as crucial steps towards the UK eventually joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership which includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Britain’s agreement with New Zealand will see tariffs eliminated on all UK exports to New Zealand, including current tariffs of up to 10 per cent on clothing and footwear, five per cent on buses and up to five per cent on ships, bulldozers and excavators.

The deal will also make it easier for some British professionals, such as lawyers and auditors, to work in New Zealand.

Red tape will be slashed to make it simpler for small and medium-sized businesses to export goods to New Zealand.

Ms Trevelyan said: ‘This deal will slash red tape, remove all tariffs and make it easier for our services companies to set up and prosper in New Zealand.

‘Our trade with New Zealand will soar, benefiting businesses and consumers throughout the UK and helping level up the whole country.

‘Like all our new trade deals, it is part of a plan to build a network of trade alliances with the most dynamic parts of the world economy, so we set the UK on a path to future prosperity.’

Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison pose with a variety of British and Australian goods, including a personalised ‘Boris’ Vegemite jar at Downing Street in July last year

What are the main goods currently traded between the UK and New Zealand?

The top five goods exported from the UK to New Zealand:

1. Cars – 21 per cent of all UK goods exported to New Zealand.

2. Specialised machinery – seven per cent.

3. Medicinal and pharmaceutical products – four per cent.

4. Road vehicles other than cars – four per cent.

5. Manufactured consumer goods – four per cent.

The top five goods imported to the UK from New Zealand:

1. Drinks – 30 per cent of all UK goods imported from New Zealand.

2. Meat – 27 per cent.

3. Vegetables and fruit – six per cent.

4. Scientific instruments – five per cent.

5. Sugar – five per cent.

Source: Department for International Trade statistics for the four quarters to the end of Q1 2021

Meat is one of New Zealand’s top exports to the UK, with sheep farming a major industry in the country.

The trade deal will enable farmers in New Zealand to send more of their products to the British market.

That has sparked an angry backlash from British farmers who fear being undercut by international competitors who are not subject to the same high standards and regulations.

British farmers expressed the same concerns over the deal the UK agreed with Australia.

The New Zealand deal was agreed in principle last October and the National Farmers’ Union said at the time that the pact ‘could damage the viability of many British farms in the years ahead’.

NFU President Minette Batters said the deals mean ‘we will be opening our doors to significant extra volumes of imported food – whether or not produced to our own high standards – while securing almost nothing in return for UK farmers’.

She said there could be a ‘huge downside’ to the pacts ‘especially for sectors such as dairy, red meat and horticulture’.

Under the deal, New Zealand will be granted more access to the UK market for lamb exports.

The deal will see all quotas on lamb lifted after 15 years, but before that there will be a quota of 35,000 tonnes for the first four years, then 50,000 additional tonnes thereafter.

However, the extra quota will only be accessible once the existing quota that the country has under World Trade Organisation rules of 114,000 tonnes is filled to 90 per cent, and officials insisted that as it stands New Zealand currently only uses half of that. They also stressed there are safeguards in place to protect UK farming.