FTA with Russia
June 1st, 2010 at 12:00 pm by David FarrarMore good news. The Dom Post reports:
New Zealand has scored a trade coup by becoming the first country to start negotiating a free trade deal with Russia.
While the Russian market is currently small for New Zealand – around $200 million a year – the potential is seen as huge by our trade negotiators.
It will be ironic if we end up with free trade agreements with China and Russia, before we do with the US!
Tags: free trade agreement, Russia
June 1st, 2010 at 12:05 pm
It will be SUPREMELY ironic if we end up with free trade agreements with China and Russia, before we do with the US!
^^^ Fixed that for you
Redbaiter will be in fits.
The not-socialist, free-trade credentials of the Leader of the Free World (USA) are greatly exaggerated methinks. Mainly by fetishists (and LibertariaNZ. Hey, wait… )
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:09 pm
The not-socialist, free-trade credentials of the Leader of the Free World (USA) are greatly exaggerated methinks. Mainly by fetishists (and LibertariaNZ. Hey, wait… )
They are exaggerated, but really only by people who have no idea what the US has been like with respect to free trade in the last few decades – without having followed every last trade deal they do they seem to have been inconsistent at best.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I’m not sure who we’re referring to. Whilst it is true that the US is one of the freest countries on earth, their record on free trade is poor. Unfortunately a combination of representative democracy, first past the post (and associated pandering to special interests), and poor education that leads many Americans to believe that free trade costs jobs in the US…..leads to them having a very patchy record on free trade.
Even Redbaiter, so far as I can tell, sees the US only as the least bad govt that is out there – he regularly complains about the big govt and interventionism of the Bush years. Bush was only a good choice by comparison to Kerry, who would have been an even bigger disaster. Similarly, McCain would only have been a good choice when compared to Obama, objectively speaking McCain had many many flaws – but the Republican who would have delivered good govt to the US didn’t exist (or wasn’t visible in the campaign).
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Sign of the times. Once we would have crawled over broken glass to get a FTA with the US. Now it’s looking less and less like it’s worth the effort. After all, the Aussies don’t really seem to have got much benefit from theirs.
Better I reckon to focus on expanding economies, like Russia or China, where there is a prospect of really growing exports, and we won’t have to trade off things like PHARMAC or dairy exports.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:17 pm
If we have free trade agreements with China Russia and India we won’t need a free trade agreement with the Leader of the Free World.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
The Russians have a trade surplus on us of about $113 million as of last year so it would be good to even that up.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
I hear Ladas have improved…
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I hope they do something about visa-free travel at the same time (or before).
There are only four countries in Europe that NZers currently need visas to visit: Russia, Belarus, Ukaraine, and Moldova. All the other former Soviet bloc countries are easy these days. (in Europe — the asiatic republics still require visas (except I think Kyrgyzstan for some reason))
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:50 pm
mmm a lamb for vodka deal
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:51 pm
by chance, there is an add to my right advertising “date with sexy Russian woman” .. started already then??
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Three countries with money in the bank. China, Russia and India. Three countries going or gone broke (aside form us that is.),
Vote:USA, England and the EU.)count that as one because of the common currency).
So why would we bother with the USA and why would we not do everything we can to tap their wealth?
June 1st, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Don’t Turkey already have an FTS with Russia?
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:01 pm
great, looks like cheap vodka and easy access to Russian brides. What do they get in return? a bit of milk powder and some surplus chardonnay
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:01 pm
hey! Great bonus for short balding men of mid age. Lots of luvely gorgeous young Russin ladies looking for the man in their life. Twice as many and no tariffs, come to NZ girls as fast as you can. We have a blogger that needs you.
Vote:Ha!
June 1st, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Not finding much about the one with Turkey, but it seems they have a FTA with Georgia and a multiway FTA with Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.
Edit Seems Serbia have one too.
Why are we claiming to be first when clearly we are not? Lazy reporting?
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:25 pm
So the butter mountain is solved then?!
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Softening the Russians in preparation for the millions NZ will be paying them in the form of carbon credit as a result of the wonderful ETS implementation? The Russkies must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Isn’t this government smart or what?
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:36 pm
More proof that we’re a second-world country!
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Beggars can’t be chosers. New Zealand has to take what it can get. That’s the price you pay for being a backwards hick country at the ass end of the world.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Well done GPT1, at least there is still one grizzled veteran who remembers that Russia was the salvation of our dairy industry at one time due to the amount of butter they took. Even if it was variously in exchange for Ladas, shiploads of coal, used aircraft carriers and in the end fresh air.
It was a surprisingly short time ago.
Mind you Dime will be happy to get his hands on some blonde bombshells.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Should be a good market for our 42 below Vodka, downside is likely to be infiltration by Russian Mafia to go along with the Chinese Triads.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 2:05 pm
And no doubt Russia has an Emissions Trading Scheme?
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 2:08 pm
“It will be ironic if we end up with free trade agreements with China and Russia, before we do with the US”
Well the US isn’t quite communist enough for us yet, Obamas workign on it though.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Adolf they get out money because they have lots of empty space. I thought you knew that already. ETS, save the planet by over taxing kiwis and giving the money to commies!
I thought we won the cold war but the lefties beleive its never too late to surender. On ya Comrade Key.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Don’t be so quick with the Lada jokes.
How many knew that back in the 80′s the NZ dairy board were the distributors for Lada vehicles?
We had a butter mountain, they needed butter but had no money, so the dairy board ended up being in the motor trade.
I have heard that the Russians even wanted to swap a nuclear submarine for dairy products at one stage.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Interesting that you think Russia is still communist.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Ineresting you don’t.
You aware of Putins rearming program? You have any idea how many incursions Bears have made into UK airspace this year? You have any idea how many subs he is taking out of mothballs?
Jesus Farrar find some commenters with at least a working knowledge of their chosen hobby horses will you.
Vote:June 1st, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Vodka? Ladas? No.
We mainly import Fishing vessels and industrial chemicals from Russia.
Vote:June 2nd, 2010 at 12:20 am
The Russians require agricultural know-how, it’s a no brainer for them.
Vote:June 2nd, 2010 at 1:52 am
How does that make Russia communist?
Vote:It seems to me it is you who requires some more working knowledge of your chosen hobby horse.