- WASHINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Thursday tried to play down concerns his country would flood the United States with dairy products under a regional free trade pact both nations are negotiating.
Key said he expected a big share of New Zealand’s dairy exports to go to Asia and for the United States to also benefit from that growing appetite.
“Our modeling shows that demand is huge in dairy, so there’s no question that the US will be filling part of that demand,” Key told reporters after a speech at the US Chamber of Commerce, a leading business group.
“Those of us with the capacity to produce surplus food need to focus on working together to open markets in Asia.”
Many US dairy producers are worried about competition from New Zealand, a major dairy products exporter, under the proposed TransPacific Partnership (TPP) pact and want protection against increased imports.
Key, who was in Washington for talks with President Barack Obama and other top officials, argued the overall pact would be good for US agriculture even if US dairy producers faced more competition.
“We think there’s a lot to be gained from the US signing up to a comprehensive deal,” since that would boost its beef and pork exports, Key said.
Key said he hoped for significant progress in the TPP talks by November, when regional leaders gather in Honolulu for the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
He declined to say how long he thought it would take to reach a final deal in the talks which also include Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Chile, Peru and Brunei.