Government aid for New Zealand exporters in navigating FTAs

The New Zealand government is investing in new tools to help businesses get the most of the country's network of free trade agreements (FTAs).

About 4.6 million NZ dollars (3.12 million U.S. dollars) over four years would be spent helping exporters "in extracting full value" from FTAs, Trade Minister Todd McClay said Wednesday.

New Zealand currently had FTAs with economies that accounted for more than half its trade and that would rise to 70 percent once the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) came into force, McClay said in a statement.

"This new investment will support the development of new tools to help business understand and use FTAs. Our tariff finder, for example, has made it a lot easier for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to identify the FTA that gives them the best competitive edge in their export markets," said McClay.

"This new money will also help us get improved commitments in FTAs when these come up for review, such as in services, investment, and addressing non-tariff barriers that exporters face," he said.

"There is a lot of information for businesses, as they plan for export growth. We want them well equipped to identify and seize new opportunities under all FTAs."