New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks during the session themed "Braving the Headwinds: Rewiring Growth Amid Fragility" of the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in Tianjin, north China, June 27, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
WELLINGTON – New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Brussels on Friday to witness the signing of the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The FTA will deliver immediate tariff savings on New Zealand exports to the European Union of about 100 million NZ dollars ($61.53 million) a year when it enters into force, Hipkins said on Tuesday.
Modeling suggests exports to the European Union will increase by up to $1.11 billion per annum and add up to $860 million to New Zealand's GDP per year once fully implemented
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Modeling suggests exports to the European Union will increase by up to 1.8 billion NZ dollars ($1.11 billion) per annum and add up to 1.4 billion NZ dollars ($860 million) to New Zealand's GDP per year once fully implemented.
"This is an important milestone towards entry into force of this high-quality and historic free trade agreement," Hipkins said.
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New Zealand will also sign the Horizon Europe Association Agreement. Horizon Europe is the European Union's main research and innovation framework and funding platform; it is also the largest multilateral research program in the world, Hipkins said.
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Associating with Horizon Europe will provide new opportunities for New Zealand scientists to collaborate with European partners on research to address major global challenges such as climate change, energy and health, he said.