Word: zealand
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...Zealand natural's ice creams go down a treat in China. The popularity of flavors like Chocolate Ecstasy and Green Tea has helped the company build 43 outlets in the People's Republic in two and a half years. But a 19% tariff on imported ice cream takes a giant lick out of the profits. "It's an awful margin that just goes to the Chinese government rather than allowing us to make a better return," says CEO Shane Lamont. When 150 New Zealand trade officials and businessmen take off for Beijing this weekend, Lamont's hopes of seeing...
...After almost four years and 15 rounds of what Wellington's ambassador to China Tony Browne calls "a very detailed, very complicated, very elaborate negotiation," New Zealand is on track to become, on April 7, the first developed nation to sign a free-trade pact with the market the whole world is courting. "It's a bit like getting the first date with the best-looking girl on the block," says Stuart Ferguson, chairman of the New Zealand-China Trade Association: in this case, ahead of suitors Australia, Norway and India. Details are a closely held secret, but the deal...
...tiny, remote New Zealand (pop. 4.3 million), finding ways to sell more goods overseas is a constant concern. "Exports have basically flatlined for the past 25 years as a share of the economy," says David Skilling, head of think tank The New Zealand Institute. China and New Zealand are both members of the World Trade Organization, but bilateral trade deals are seen as a way to further open export markets. New Zealand would like to follow Australia's lead and sign one with the U.S., but a deal with China is just as pressing. Lopsided tariff barriers - China...
...Since the People's Republic already enjoys near-free trade with New Zealand, its financial gains will likely be small. Wellington negotiators have said the Chinese were keen on access to agricultural technology and easier entry for niche workers like chefs and acupuncturists. But for Beijing, the deal's key value is as a trial run. Free-trade agreements are part of China's global push for the status and influence of a big power. The negotiation with New Zealand, says the Trade Association's Ferguson, will serve as "a template for bigger, more complex deals" - a pilot project where...
...Zealand's eight political parties support the deal, but polls show that fewer than half of voters do. Critics fear a flood of cheap goods and farm produce, and point to China's poor record on the environment and human rights. United Future party leader Peter Dunne is boycotting the Beijing signing ceremony in protest at China's crackdown in Tibet, but says abandoning the pact would be "a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face...