Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for Economy
I note the announcement made on 20 October by the UK Government that an in principle agreement has been reached on the UK-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA).
The UK and New Zealand have shown a history of shared values and a commitment to free trade, and an FTA could bring potential benefits to Wales. New Zealand is the 50th largest goods export destination for Wales and the 60th largest goods import market, with the value of goods trade amounting to £38.4m for the year ending June 2021.
We have engaged with the UK Government throughout the negotiation process and consistently put forward the view that UK trade agreements should not undermine our own ambitions or our domestic legislation here in Wales. We have also been in conversation with stakeholders across Wales, to identify the impacts a trade deal may have on their sectors as well as identifying opportunities for Welsh producers.
We do not yet know the final details on the agreement, but alongside the other Devolved Governments have continued to raise concerns regarding the cumulative impact that offering significant increases in agricultural market access across a range of agricultural sectors could have on our domestic agricultural industry. We will continue to request that the UK Government provides us with sight of the impact analysis used to inform the negotiations of the market access agreements in this and any future free trade agreements.
My officials will now scrutinise the detail of the agreement to determine the impacts on Wales. Once the final agreement is available and we have had the time to complete this work, we will publish a report detailing the potential impacts on Wales and our views on the agreement.