Largest trade meeting in 20 years underway in Auckland

The biggest trade meeting to be held in New Zealand in 20 years is getting underway in Auckland.

Two days of trade talks kicked off this morning at the International Convention Centre with a panel discussion led by Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay and representatives of the governments of Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Panama, with a room full of business leaders, as well as representatives from Peru.

The main trade event gets underway this afternoon when 10 trade ministers and up to 100 delegates representing 21 countries arrive in Auckland as part of the second Future of Investment and Trade (FITP) Partnership, with the ministerial meeting getting underway tomorrow.

The meeting would bring together economies from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.

"This is a global gathering, hosted by New Zealand, at a time when the world trading system is under real pressure. Ministers are coming to Auckland to focus on reducing barriers and boosting trade," McClay said.

"Visiting ministers will have an opportunity to engage with the New Zealand business community and make decisions that mean trade rules are consistent, less costly and easier to navigate.

"We are agreeing practical ways to reduce barriers and make it easier for everybody to trade outside of a free trade agreement. We have to do this because trade rules are becoming contested, relationships more complex, and disruptions more frequent."

New Zealand was a founding member of the FIT Partnership, which included Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Morocco, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Rwanda, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.

"The FIT Partnership is one way to address the unnecessary red tape, complex processes and regulations that directly affect our Kiwi exporters. Non-tariff barriers are a clear example. They affect $9 billion of New Zealand trade and hit the primary sector hardest. As Chair, I will be working with FIT partners to tackle them as a priority."

He said members would discuss promoting paperless and digital trade, which reduced business costs and lifted productivity, confronting subsidies that distorted trade, and reinforcing rules that secured a level playing field.