National’s last minute ditch to get the Trans Pacific Partnership 11 agreement across the line just a day before the general election smacks of desperation, the Green Party said today. The comments come on the back of news that MFAT negotiators will meet in Japan to negotiate the final package of elements for the TPP, now called the TPP-11 since the US pulled out. This is the deal that will be presented for final agreement by Ministers in November. “The...

The Green Party today remains deeply concerned about the TPPA’s successor agreement, TPP-11. "The most egregious clauses in the original TPPA were the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, which were included largely at the insistence of the United States. Now that the US isn't a part of it anymore, the remaining countries should simply remove the ISDS mechanisms," said Green Party Leader James Shaw. “As long as the ISDS mechanisms remain in place, the TPP-11 undermines New Zealand’s ability to...

Any new version of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) without the United States (US) must be brought back to Parliament for scrutiny and examination, whether Bill English thinks it’s necessary or not, the Green Party said today. The Prime Minister has been reported saying a revised TPPA would “not necessarily” need to go back to Parliament, while leaked Crown Law advice says it would. “The TPPA without the US is potentially a very different beast. It would be dishonest...

Signing up to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) with Japan but without the United States (US) will incur large costs but without many of the supposed benefits, the Green Party said today. Prime Minister Bill English is on his way to Japan, where he will meet with other TPPA countries in an attempt to resurrect the trade deal. “Some of the most unpopular aspects of the TPPA, like longer copyright protection and rules that affect the costs of medicines, are...

New Zealand appears to have pushed for a trade deal that could undermine Pacific Island countries’ ability to support their local economies and restrict their right to regulate in their own interests, the Green Party said today. “New Zealand and Australia are being accused of pushing a trade deal to advance their own commercial interests at the expense of Pacific Islands’ national interests,” Green Party trade spokesperson Barry Coates said. “The fact that the Pacific’s two biggest economies, Fiji and...

New Zealand should be working on positive new ways of creating international trade agreements, instead of participating in talks to try to resuscitate the dead-and-buried Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), the Green Party said today. Representatives from all the TPPA countries except the US have been meeting this week in Chile to discuss their next move. “It is disappointing that our Trade Minister is intent on flogging a dead horse rather than moving on and looking for better ways to support...

Attempting to salvage the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a bad idea, the Green Party said today. “Bill English’s statement that he’ll attempt a TPPA-style trade deal without the US glosses over how difficult that would be in practice and why it’s not a good idea anyway,” Green Party trade spokesperson Barry Coates said. “The TPPA is an old-fashioned trade deal and instead of trying to salvage it we should be looking for new ways to make trade agreements...

Bill English could use the opportunity of trade negotiations with the European Union (EU) to push for a new type of trade agreement that promotes sustainable economic development and helps create an economy that works for all New Zealanders, the Green Party said today. “This is an opportunity for a new type of trade agreement, negotiated in a transparent and democratic way, that puts people, jobs, and the environment ahead of multinational corporations,” Green Party trade spokesperson Barry Coates said....

The Green Party is calling on the National Government to negotiate any changes to the free trade agreement (FTA) with China with greater transparency than it showed with the TPPA, and not weaken the protection of our strategic assets. Talks to update the China FTA will start early next year and there is a risk the current National Government will give away too much, in return for greater access for our agricultural commodities. “Better access to Chinese markets is good...

Land Information Minister Louise Upston can’t name a good reason to allow non-resident overseas investors to buy New Zealand homes because there isn’t one, the Green Party said today. Minister Upston was questioned this morning about new Land Information New Zealand data on the number of overseas buyers in the New Zealand property market. “Every home sold to an overseas investor is a home that a local family can’t buy,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei. “The only thing overseas...