French retaliate on some exports?

Press, 25 February 1986, Page 1

French retaliate on some exports?

By

MARTIN FREETH

In Wellington The Government is trying to discover whether hold-ups on some exports to France and New Caledonia are French retaliation against New Zealand’s refusal to release the agents imprisoned after - the Rainbow Warrior bombing. Documentation has been refused for the entry of a shipment of lamb brains to France, and import licences for the sale of frozen meat to New Caledonia have been withdrawn.

A South Auckland company has been told that its export of potatoes to New Caledonia next month is in doubt.

Trade and Industry Department officials are seeking explanations after the exporters concerned were told of the problems in brief telex messages last week.

The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, yesterday pointed to the prospect of the delays being politically motivated.

A significant problem could be arising concerning the shipment of lamb brains to France, Mr Lange said,

“One must remember the extraordinary capacity of France to engage in non-tariff barriers without actually making an issue of it,” he said. About three years ago, Japanese exporters had experienced difficulty getting . approval„ for video recorders. The, Trench had insisted they had nothing against the imports; it was just that they had assigned one officer to deal with all the applications and he was in the Pyrenees. Mr Lange said New Zealand was at risk' of French moves to pressure it into giving up the two Rainbow Warrior agents. However, he said there sometimes were valid reasons for refusing import licences and it should not automatically be assumed that the present ■delays were politically motivated. On the exports to New Caledonia, Mr Lange said inquiries so far had indicated "some form of import substitution incentive .going on which was de-

signed to make New Caledonia more self-reli-ant in meat and seed potatoes.” Whether it was part of a political strategy against New Zealand had yet to be determined, but it was an “extraordinary thing for somebody to start •thinking about? ". - s '!< Edible offal is now. New Zealand’s fourth-largest export to France, worth $l6 million in 1984-85. A Trade and Industry trade policy official, Mr Trevor Lloyd, said the container-load of lamb brains, for which the French had refused to provide the necessary import certification, was in Europe now or on the way. Previous problems with exports to France had arisen for purely bureaucratic reasons, he said.

A spokesman for Colombia Exports, > Ltd, of

Auckland, said yesterday that licences for the import of about $200,000 of meat by New Caledonia had been withdrawn without explanation.