FREE TRADE TREATY

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31587, 26 January 1968, Page 9

FREE TRADE TREATY

For many years. New Zealand and Australia have had formal trade relationships. A trade agreement was first negotiated in 1922 and, in 1933, both countries agreed to accord each other British preferential tariff treatment for the great bulk of items traded. After the Second World War it was apparent that even closer relations in trade would be desirable and, in 1961, a Joint Consultative Committee was established to review and study trade between the two countries. Arising out of the work of this committee, and the subsequent Joint Standing Committee, the two countries agreed to establish a free trade area. The New Zealand/Australia Free Trade Agreement

signed on August 31, 1965, is now the central feature of trade relations between the two countries. The agreement came into operation on January 1, 1966, and initially covered more than half of trans-Tasman trade. The main items initially included in the agreement were pulp, newsprint, most papers, timber, lamb, frozen vegetables, fish, dried fruits, petroleum products, wool tops, tin plate, lead, zinc copper bars and rods, a wide range of chemicals and certain agricultural and industrial machinery. Additional items such as pork and cheddar cheese were included in the agreement subject to special arrangements. Mutual Expansion i The object of the agreemnt j is to encourage a continuous; and mutually beneficial expansion of trade between Aus-1

tralia and New Zealand. Under the agreement, tariffs on items in Schedule A of the agreement are to be phased out over a period of up to eight years. It is proposed that items be added to the agreement progressively until eventually the great bulk of items traded will be free of duty in each country.