On 30 June, a significant milestone was reached for Māori after Aotearoa New Zealand and the European Union concluded negotiations on a high quality, inclusive free trade agreement (FTA). The full FTA will be released in the weeks ahead, and is expected to be signed in 2023.
The agreement includes a ‘Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation’ chapter, providing an important new platform with the EU to enable Māori to benefit from the agreement and cooperate to advance Māori economic aspirations. This is the first time the EU has included such a chapter in a FTA and it presents a new opportunity for Māori to advance trade interests in the European Union.
A number of information sessions, webinars and regional workshops are being held for NZ exporters to better understand the opportunities and benefits from the NZ-UK FTA, as well as the NZ-EU agreement. The next upcoming session will focus on the NZ-UK FTA: Services, Investment and Procurement.
You can read more about the NZ-EU agreement and what it means for Māori here.
