Washington, D.C. – On Friday, July 20, 2018, the United States and New Zealand concluded two days of meetings under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), noting the strong and growing trade relationship between the two countries and discussing a full range of bilateral issues.
During the meetings, the United States and New Zealand agreed to a program of expanded cooperation on issues of shared interest, including working together to address trade barriers in third-country markets and exchanging information about unfair trade practices. The meeting recognized the importance of building on the strong and close ongoing cooperation between the United States and New Zealand at the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and other international organizations. The United States raised concerns regarding intellectual property and pressed for improvements.
The meetings were led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish for the United States and Ambassador Tim Groser for New Zealand, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Director General Clare Kelly leading a delegation from Wellington for the talks. The United States delegation included officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and State.
Background
Two-way goods trade between the United States and New Zealand totaled $8.1 billion in 2017, with U.S. goods exports to New Zealand totaling $3.9 billion and imports totaling $4.2 billion. The United States had a $237 million goods trade deficit with New Zealand in 2017. U.S. services exports to New Zealand totaled $2.5 billion in 2016 (latest available data), while services imports from New Zealand amounted to $2.2 billion in 2016 (latest available data). The United States had a $315 million services trade surplus with New Zealand in 2016.
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