Photo: AFP
The European Union Parliament has voted to ratify the New Zealand-EU Union Free Trade Agreement, but there's still a way to go before it comes into force.
The deal was set to remove 91 percent of tariffs on New Zealand goods into the EU from day one of coming into force, eventually rising to 97 percent.
It did not go as far as beef and dairy farmers would have liked and would require some domestic producers to eventually stop using names such as 'feta' or 'proseco'.
The EU Parliament voted in favour of ratification with 524 votes in favour, 85 against and 21 abstentions - the largest majority in favour of any EU trade agreement since 2011.
But there were still more steps in the EU ratification process and the deal was yet to be ratified in New Zealand too.
However, New Zealand International Business Forum executive director Stephen Jacobi told Morning Report it was still a noteworthy step.
"If only we had better access for some of the products that we sell in volume" - Steven Jacobi, International Business Forum executive director
"We've just got to get on now and do the ratification through our parliamentary process here in New Zealand once the Parliament gets back to work," he said.
Jacobi said he was surprised by the wide margin of the European vote.
The EU-NZ FTA opens New Zealand up to "European like regulation" - Stephen Jacobi, International Business Forum Photo: supplied
"The agreement, while it's very good in a number of aspects, for some of those key agricultural products, like dairy and beef, it doesn't offer a lot of liberalisation.
"I'm sure the European farmers were opposed to it but it probably didn't translate into a lot of votes in the Parliament."
Such give and take was part of trade deal negotiations and this was a very modern deal, Jacobi said.
"To reach 450 million consumers, as it's going to do for us, we had to give a little more than we're used to."
He did not believe this would be the last big deal New Zealand would sign and said there was a "busy" trade agenda ahead.
"It's going to be different though because the world is becoming more protectionist and inward looking.
"This is another factor for the EU, this is the first trade agreement that they've signed for some time."
Next steps
Negotiations on the NZ-EU agreement concluded on 30 June 2022 and the agreement was signed on 9 July 2023 in Brussels.
It was expected to come into force by the middle of 2024, once it was fully ratified by both sides.
European response
International Trade Committee chairman Bernd Lange said he was proud.
"Because in this global world of fragmentation, we managed to agree on the most progressive and sustainable trade agreement by the European Union ever. This is a big success."
International Trade Committee member Daniel Caspary said it was a good day for the EU and "global rule-based trade".
"While we live at different ends of the world, the EU and New Zealand are close, trusted, reliable and like-minded partners. Together, we are driving global rules-based trade forward against the backdrop of a worldwide wave of protectionism and isolationism."