Weekly Global Report:
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Trade and Economic Updates
International
New Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge concluded
- On 24 May the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) approved a new Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. Parties to the Treaty will provide for a new disclosure requirement, where applicants for patents based on genetic resources or on traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, must specify the country of origin or source of the genetic resources, or the Indigenous Peoples or local community that provided the traditional knowledge. Twenty-nine WIPO Member States have signed the Treaty, which will enter into force three months after at least 15 of them have deposited their instruments of ratification. New Zealand is not a signatory. Learn more here(external link).
Domestic
Minister of Finance delivers 2024 budget
- Minister of Finance Nicola Willis delivered the 2024 New Zealand budget last week. A central part of the budget was the government’s implementation of tax cuts, which will be delivered on 31 July. Spending will also be focused on areas including education, law and order, infrastructure, and defence. Minister Willis outlined the target of a return to surplus in the 2027/28 fiscal year. Read more about Budget 2024 here. (external link)
Americas
APEC Ministers Meetings held in Peru
- The Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) held the Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM2) Ministerial in May in Arequipa, Peru. Three ministerial meetings achieved consensus statements: the Women and the Economy Forum(external link), the (first ever) APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting on Women and Trade(external link), and the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting(external link) (MRT). This was the first MRT consensus statement since 2021. The MRT Statement included outcomes on non-tariff barriers, trade and climate change, support for World Trade Organisation reform, and the e-commerce moratorium. Minister Chris Penk, representing New Zealand on behalf of the Minister for Trade, expressed support of APEC’s role as the premier regional forum for trade and economic issues, and how it will help deliver the Government’s objective of doubling exports in the next ten years.
North Asia
Korea New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
- If you are interested in knowing more about KNZFTA, including how you can take advantage of it as an exporter or importer, see the MFAT webpage for the KNZFTA.
China, South Korea, and Japan leadership meet
- In Seoul city, President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida, and Premier of China Li Qiang met and issued a joint declaration in areas of climate change, people-to-people exchanges, the trilateral free trade agreement , and ageing societies. They also discussed maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. This was the first summit held between the three countries in four years.
Europe
European Central Bank set to cut interest rates
- The European Central Bank (ECB) has sent a clear signal that it will cut interest rates from their historic highs next week after Eurozone inflation fell close to the bank’s two percent target. In an interview with Financial Times, the ECB’s Chief Economist commented: “barring major surprises, at this point in time there is enough in what we see to remove the top level of restriction”. The ECB now looks almost certain to be one of the first major central banks to cut rates, having been criticised for being one of the last to raise them after the biggest inflation surge for a generation three years ago. The Fed and Bank of England are not expected to cut rates before the northern summer.
Market reports released this week
The following links may provide useful information to businesses:
NZTE(external link) has a website focused on providing COVID-19 information for exporters. They’ve also launched myNZTE(external link), an interactive digital portal of insights and tools available to all New Zealand exporters.
The Treasury releases a weekly economic update(external link) every Friday. Stats NZ has published a data portal(external link) with near real-time economic indicators.
MBIE publishes a sector reports series(external link) which provides regularly updated reports on all industry sectors that make up the New Zealand economy. These include official economic data and the challenges and opportunities that face New Zealand’s industry sectors.
Business.govt.nz(external link) provides tools and advice from across government to save small businesses’ time and help make the business a success.
MFAT has created a tariff finder(external link) which is designed to help goods exporters and importers maximise benefits from New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreements and compare tariffs in 136 other markets.
The all of government Trade Barriers(external link) website can be used to register any trade barriers experienced or issues exporting to an offshore market. Queries can be sent via the website or through the MFAT Exporter Helpline 0800 824 605. Enquiries will be sent to the government agency best placed to answer.
Tatauranga Aotearoa Stats NZ provides official data on the value of New Zealand’s exports and imports of both goods and services, by commodity type via the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link). This interactive dashboard is updated every quarter and allows for filtering by country and by commodity type.
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Disclaimer
This information released in this report aligns with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982. The opinions and analysis expressed in this report are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views or official policy position of the New Zealand Government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Government take no responsibility for the accuracy of this report.