WELLINGTON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's major governing National Party on Sunday pledged to launch trade negotiations with more economies within five years if re-elected in the November general election, as part of a strategy to expand export markets.
The proposed negotiations would involve Brazil, Switzerland, Argentina, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uruguay and the European Free Trade Association bloc, which also includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Current exports to these markets total about 1.8 billion NZ dollars (1.03 billion U.S. dollars), highlighting what it sees as growth potential, said the party's trade spokesperson Todd McClay while announcing the election trade policy in Auckland with party leader Christopher Luxon, targeting what they described as the country's "next billion customers."
The National groups the targets into high-value European economies, large South American markets and fast-growing Asian and African economies.
A second phase would extend talks to six additional countries, including South Africa, Türkiye, Colombia, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, over the following decade. Together, the two phases cover nearly 1 billion people, according to McClay.
The spokesperson cited a recent free trade agreement with India as evidence of the party's ability to secure deals.
Luxon, also the prime minister of a coalition government, said National had completed 23 trade missions to 18 countries, which had generated more than 2 billion NZ dollars in deals, contracts and commercial commitments.
The party also pledged to seek new essential-supplies deals modelled on the New Zealand-Singapore agreement on trade in essential supplies, and to accelerate paperless trade and digital customs measures to reduce non-tariff barriers and secure more reliable supply chains. ■