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Bill English.
News of the plan to improve trade with China came just days after PM Bill English announced plans for a new and ambitious trade strategy called Trade Agenda 2030.
Its goal is to have 90% of NZ exports covered by trade agreements by 2030 – well up from the present 53%. English says $91.3 million over four years will be spent on achieving this goal.
The plans include opening an embassy in Dublin, replacing representation by the NZ High Commission in London. And there will be a new High Commission in Sri Lanka.
Opening an embassy in Dublin is seen as a way to get closer to Ireland as a friendly EU member, important given Britain’s intention to exit. The embassy in Sri Lanka recognises NZ’s substantial and growing trade there.
About $20 million will go helping MPI contribute to raising the value of primary exports – especially in trying to reduce non-tariff barriers, which are generally ‘technical’ and difficult to negotiate.
Trade Agenda 2030 will have a ministerial advisory group to keep the public better informed about trade issues. The 23 member group will include people from all primary sectors and from tourism, Maori, trade unions, exporters and academia.
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact that, now more than ever, US farmers are being propped up by government welfare – a direct result of Trump’s hardline on its trading partners.
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
If you find a new consumer in a developed wine market, you are taking them from someone else, says Blank Canvas co-founder Sophie Parker-Thomson MW.
The large 2025 harvest will exacerbate the wine industry's "lingering" supply from recent vintages, New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan told attendees at Grape Days events around the country in June.
A Chinese business leader says Chinese investors are unfairly viewed as potential security risks in New Zealand.
With the current situation in the European farm machinery market being described as difficult at best, it’s perhaps no surprise that the upcoming AgriSIMA 2026 agricultural machinery exhibition, scheduled for February 2026 at Paris-Nord Villepinte, has been cancelled.
The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) has launched the first in-market activation of the refreshed Taste Pure Nature country-of-origin brand with an exclusive pop-up restaurant experience in Shanghai.
Jayna Wadsworth, daughter of the late New Zealand wicketkeeper Ken Wadsworth, has launched an auction of cricket memorabilia to raise funds for I Am Hope's youth mental health work.
As we move into the 2025/26 growing season, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that the third quarter results for the year to date is showing that the stagnated tractor market of the last 18 months is showing signs of recovery.
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown is urging dairy farmers to participate in the 2026 Levy vote, to be held early next year.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling for nominations for director roles in the Eastern North Island and Southern South Island electoral districts.
