A slightly free trade deal

I have to say that one can only be disappointed that the US/Australia free trade deal is a long way from its name. The exclusion of sugar and glacial changes on agriculture suggest that the US commitment to free trade is more in theory than practice. At least the EU doesn’t even pretend to believe in free trade!

Having said that, the areas that are included make it a deal still worth implementing. Any move towards free trade is better than no movement and the benefits are estimated to be several billion dollars which is not chicken feed. This will hurt NZ by not even being in the queue for the queue for a deal.

As widely reported, sugar was always going to be very difficult for the US in an election year as most of the growers are in the pivotal state of Florida. One advantage of MMP is you are less beholden to local interests which may not be the same as the national interest.