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Press releases
- NZ EU Trade Deal Delivers Export Growth, May 2025(external link)
- Post Cabinet Press Conference – NZ-EU FTA 1 year anniversary, May 2025(external link)
- High Quality Kiwi Beef and Lamb Helps Lead Economic Recovery, March 2025(external link)
Benefits for exporters
Goods
The EU is New Zealand’s fourth largest trading partner, with two-way trade in goods and services worth NZ$21.58 billion in the year to June 2025. It is one of New Zealand’s most important markets, with close to 450 million high-income consumers.
Under the FTA:
- 91% of New Zealand’s current goods trade to the EU now enter duty free, rising to 97% after seven years; and
- Estimated tariff savings of $100 million from day one, rising to $110 million after seven years.
- The FTA will also open up valuable additional quota access for key products of export interest to New Zealand, including for beef and dairy.
Services
The FTA also contains high standards, rules and commitments to support the growth and development of trade in services between New Zealand and the EU. Prior to the pandemic the EU was New Zealand’s fourth-largest market for services exports, with exports worth $1.87 billion in the year to March 2020. The Agreement includes improved commitments to help facilitate and provide certainty for services exporters.
Services market access commitments contained in the Agreement build significantly on commitments made in the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services and follow the ‘negative listing’ approach, which provides for greater clarity and transparency of commitments.
Among the sectors in which the Agreement delivers improved access for New Zealand services exporters are private education services and certain professional services, including legal services. The NZ-EU FTA includes commitments on a broader range of aviation services, including ground handling services and services such as aerial fire-fighting, flight training, aerial spraying and other airborne agricultural, industrial and inspection services.
In the movement of business persons section, the NZ-EU FTA significantly eases the regulatory process to secure visas for New Zealand firms seeking to provide professional services on a contractual basis, including engineering, legal services, and environmental services.
Benefits for small and medium businesses
The FTA creates opportunities for New Zealand businesses large and small to grow, invest and diversify. The agreement cuts costs and red tape for New Zealand exporters, allowing them to compete on a level playing field in the EU.
Protecting rights
The NZ-EU FTA preserves the unique status of the Treaty of Waitangi. The EU recognised the importance of this to New Zealand, and the NZ-EU FTA includes a Treaty of Waitangi exception to ensure the government can meet its obligations to Māori. This provision is consistent with all of New Zealand’s recent FTAs.
Also, in line with previous free trade agreements, the FTA includes general exceptions and specific reservations to preserve the Government's right to regulate and ensure public provision in areas such as health, education, labour, environment, water, culture and heritage and other areas that are important to New Zealanders.
In line with New Zealand policy, Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and investment protection provisions are not included in the FTA.
- To view the full NZ-EU FTA text, see the NZ-EU FTA texts page.
- For other public materials and resources from the negotiation/pre-negotiation phase including Scoping Summary, Public Meetings, Public submissions and OIAs, see the Public materials and history of negotiations page.