Press release

Press release on the EU-New Zealand trade agreement

Container ship seen from a bird's eye view

A bad day for climate protection: European Parliament approves EU-New Zealand trade agreement

Berlin, 22/11/2023: "The presentation of the agreement as the EU's most progressive trade agreement is a deception of the public", explains Thomas Fritz, trade expert at PowerShift. The agreed tariff reduction is aimed at increasing bilateral trade in some of the most climate-damaging goods. While the EU expects strong growth in car, machinery and chemical exports, New Zealand benefits from tariff-privileged quotas for beef and dairy products. "The agreement thus rewards precisely those sectors with additional export options that have been able to evade the decarbonisation of their production for far too long," says Bettina Müller, PowerShift trade expert.

While in the EU many of the beneficiary industries will still benefit from free emission allowances under the EU ETS until 2034, the agricultural sector in New Zealand and the EU is completely exempt from emissions trading. As the agreement does not contain any commitments linking trade in tariff-privileged goods to emission reductions in the respective sectors, there is a risk of even higher greenhouse gas emissions. “Given the climate crisis, it is cynical for some MEPs to celebrate the EU-New Zealand deal as the new gold standard”, criticises Thomas Fritz.

Then there are the disproportionate Transport related emissions Given the distance of 18,000 kilometres between Europe and New Zealand. "Even the official impact assessment of the EU Commission found that the trade agreement will lead to an increase in transport-related emissions," explains Bettina Müller.

The EU-New Zealand free trade negotiations started in 2018 and concluded in mid-2022. After the Council of the EU had already given its consent to the agreement in July of this year, the European Parliament followed suit today. Fifty civil society organizations were involved in a Joint statement called on the European Parliament to refuse consent to the agreement.

Press contacts

Thomas Fritz, trade expert, +49 (0)30 275 937 38 , thomas.fritz@power-shift.de

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