London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

UK & New Zealand agree to free trade deal, overcoming historic Kiwi grudge, but some question whether Britain gets enough from it

UK & New Zealand agree to free trade deal, overcoming historic Kiwi grudge, but some question whether Britain gets enough from it

The UK has sealed its second post-Brexit free trade deal, deciding to free up commerce with its former colony, New Zealand. Both sides see it as a win-win bargain, though some believe the Pacific nation gains more from it.

The deal was agreed in principle by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, in a Zoom call on Wednesday. It will be finalized and ratified by the two nations before it comes into force, which is expected to happen before the end of the year. The negotiations took 16 months and ended almost two months after the target date, so it remains to be seen if the timeline holds.

The treaty is the second trade deal the Johnson government has sealed since Brexit. A similar arrangement was agreed in principle with Australia this summer.

In a sense, the pact with the Kiwis circles back to the 1960s, before the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC), Europe’s common trade market, which resulted in it downgrading its trade relationship with Wellington.

The New Zealand public’s attitude towards the UK took a big hit as a result of the 1973 divorce, as many people felt betrayed and abandoned by the country’s ex-metropole and then-biggest trade partner. While it was just one factor in a painful realignment of the New Zealand economy in the 1970s and 1980s, the grudge still lives on among some older Kiwis.

The new deal is unlikely to turn New Zealand back into Britain’s “farm in the Pacific,” as former British prime minister Harold Macmillan called it back in the day, or at least not instantly. Wine, one of the primary export articles, will be among the products that will see the lifting of tariffs from day one, along with about two-thirds of all Kiwi exports to the UK by volume. But other primary farmed goods will have to wait for up to 15 years for full liberalization.

The longest pause will be applied to sheep meat and beef. The UK will be setting increasingly large tariff-free import quotas for those products over a decade and a half. Dairy products like butter and cheese will see full access to the British market five years after the deal comes into force with a similar quota transition, while exports of mussels and apples will have a three-year grace period.

The gradual transition is meant to protect British farmers from their export-oriented competitors in New Zealand. No such provisions will be applied to any British goods, which will see trade tariffs lifted in full as soon as the deal is implemented.

Johnson and Ardern hailed the deal as historic and beneficial to both nations. The Twitter account of the British leader went with some lighthearted emojis as it shared a video showing him and his counterpart bringing “the ball over the line”, as Johnson called it.


His office said the deal would be good for all parts of the UK since it would give better access to New Zealand’s market to Scottish bankers and insurers, Welsh carmakers and Northern Irish textile producers.

Ardern stressed that the agreement included special provisions for climate change, with the UK agreeing to “take concrete steps to eliminate subsidies on fossil fuels,” and had new prohibitions to prevent overfishing. It also provides for cooperation on issues important to New Zealand’s indigenous population, her office said.

Meanwhile, skeptics pointed out that the British government’s own analysis expects the immediate impact of the deal on the nation’s GDP to be negligible. New Zealand is a relatively unimportant destination for the UK, accounting for less than 0.2% of its foreign trade and ranking 53rd by trade volume. For comparison, the UK is New Zealand’s seventh-largest trading partner and is projected to boost its exports by 40% over 15 years.


The British cabinet highlighted the agreement’s less tangible benefits, like facilitating mutual businesses by cutting through various restrictions. It’s also seen as a stepping stone for the UK to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-member free-trade bloc.

There is also the geopolitical consideration in Britain’s economic pivot to the Pacific. New Zealand’s current biggest trading partner is China. In January, Wellington and Beijing upgraded their 2008 free trade deal, with the Chinese side saying the move exemplified its pursuit of multilateralism.

Britain is firmly on the side of the US in its ongoing great power competition with China. In September, the two formally joined forces with Australia by forming the AUKUS security alliance. It came with a side deal for the supply of US-built nuclear-propelled attack submarines to Australia, which canceled a previous agreement with France to take the American offer.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×