Market accessAPECExport controlsNZ and the WTODohaImproving access to marketsStrengthening trade rulesTrade IssuesOECDTrade AgreementsTrade RelationshipsTrade and economic analysisTrade lawTrade scholarships
Find MFAT's information paper on a country or territory. (We don't have information papers on all countries.)
Although we have tried to use plain English content on the site, you may come across specialist terms and acronyms. Find out what they mean in our glossary of terms.
If you come across a term that isn't included in the Glossary please send us an email.
The push is on among WTO negotiators to get agreement on a framework deal in the Doha negotiations by Easter.
After work was suspended last July, key players struggled to find a basis for relaunching the negotiations. The outlook was bleak.
The mood changed after a series of high-level contacts between the United States and European Union in January. These produced positive comments from United States Trade Representative, Susan Schwab, and her European Union counterpart, Peter Mandelson. There were parallel contacts with their Brazilian and Indian counterparts, Celso Amorim and Kamal Nath.
Confirmation that the talks were to resume came from meetings held in the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos in late January. New Zealand Trade Minister Phil Goff was active in the Davos discussions.
The immediate focus is on bilateral contacts among negotiators on the handling of specific products in individual markets. The building blocks for a deal will be a series of understandings on what is achievable for exporters, and the limits of what importers can accept. These then need to be fed into the wider negotiations in Geneva, where the framework texts will be written.
Timing remains critical. The United States needs to have details of a deal in place so critical legislation can be finalised. Drafting for a new Farm Bill, a new Trade Promotion Authority and a new Trade Adjustment Assistance package needs to be well advanced by July before the summer congressional recess.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Germany's six month presidency of the European Union, which runs to the end of June, is an opportunity to tie down details of a deal covering a range of sensitive issues.
Currently talks are continuing at negotiator level, but at some point in the next few months some key issues will have to be put in front of ministers for resolution.
For further information on the Doha process, please contact Danie Beukman, Trade Policy Liaison Unit, +64 4 439 8233.
