JOINT STATEMENT: SECRETARY OF STATE FOR BUSINESS AND TRADE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT OF NEW ZEALAND

LONDON, June 11 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

This Joint Statement follows the meeting of the Minister for Trade and Investment of New Zealand and Secretary of State for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom on1 June2026.

At their meeting,the Ministers opened thethirdJoint Committee of the New Zealand-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (FTA)andreaffirmed the strength of the New Zealand-United Kingdom trade relationshipwhich reached a record£4.0bn orNZ$7.4bn of trade in goods and services in 2025.

Theynoted this reflectsthe strength oftheFTA,which celebratedthree yearssinceits entry into force on 31 May2023,andits continued delivery oftangible benefits to businesses and consumers.

In 2025, £675.1morNZ$1,529.6m of traded goods successfully used preferential tariffs; i.e. around 91.5% of goods traded between the UK and New Zealand made use of preferences where one was available.High utilisation of preferential tariffsshows businesses aretaking full advantage ofthe benefits of the FTA- reducing costs, improvingmarketcompetitivenessandsupporting trade growth.

Between Jan and Dec 2025:

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88.5%of goods imports into New Zealand from the UK used preferential tariffs.Hadthistradeoccurred at standard Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rates,itcould haveencounteredanadditional£7.9morNZ$17.9m in duties.

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92.4%of goods imports into the UK from New Zealand used preferential tariffs. Hadthistradeoccurred at standard MFN tariff rates,itcould haveencounteredanadditional£98.4morNZ$222.9m induties.

Ministersnoted continued progressunder the FTAandongoing cooperation acrossits breadth.

Theywelcomedadvancementson a tariff rate quota data sharing arrangement between the New Zealand Meat Board and HM Revenue and Customsandnoted the Joint Understanding reached by the UK and New Zealandonimprovingthe terms of trade fordealcoholisedand partiallydealcoholisedwinesandcommitting to make as much progress as possible towards a mutually satisfactory outcome over the next year.Ministersalsowelcomedsignificant progresson the review of the digital chapterandlook forward toconcludingdiscussionsandagreeing an outcomethat supports shared ambitions for digital trade growth.

TheyagreedthattheComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)strengthens connections between the UK, New Zealand, andother Parties to the Agreement.Ministersreaffirmed their commitment totheCPTPP'sexpansionvia the accessionofeconomiesable to meet the Agreement's high standards,theupgradingofthe Agreement to ensure it remainsof a highquality,andexpanding the reach of theAgreement throughthe CPTPP-EU and CPTPP-ASEAN Dialoguesto facilitate trade and support the international trading system.

In an increasingly uncertain global environment, the Ministers underscored that open and rules-based trade is central to prosperity and economic security,and reaffirmed their commitment todefend, strengthen, and modernise the rules-based multilateral trading system.

Theyreaffirmed the importance of a strong and effective WorldTradeOrganization,at the core of the multilateral trading system,andthe need toworktogetherwith urgencyto progress,an inclusive andtransparentWTO Reformagenda.

Ministersnotedthe importance of advancing gender equality through trade. The UK announced its intention to begin the formal process to join the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement(GTAGA),underscoring the UK's commitment to ensuring that international trade works for everyone.

They welcomed the signing ofa newbilateralDouble Tax Agreement tobetterpromote cross border trade and investmentbetweenthe UKand New Zealand,byeliminatingdouble taxationand improving certainty for taxpayers.

Ministers committed to continued engagement to progress opportunities under the FTA andidentifiedenvironment, inclusive, digital and services trade as priorities for further cooperation in the year ahead.

Note to editors: 

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Sources:  Trade data sourced fromthe UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted - Office for National Statistics.

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Sources: Goods and services trade data sourced from Statistics New Zealand, publicly accessible through the New Zealand Trade Dashboard.

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Trade asymmetries exist between the UK and New Zealand official trade statistics, but this does not mean that either country is inaccurate in their estimation. Differences can be caused by a range of conceptual and measurement variations between the estimation practices of different countries.

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Based on data from New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Statistics New Zealand, Customs import utilisation data, April 2026.

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Estimated duty savings are based on exchanged country tariff schedules and preference utilisation data. We take imports entering using preferential tariff rates and apply the corresponding MFN tariff rates to estimate the duties that would have been charged underMFN treatment. It is important to note that estimated duty savings assume full substitution from preferential to MFN tariff treatment, with import volumes unchanged.

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For UK imports, estimated duty savings are calculatedusing the Ad Valorem, Specific, or Compound tariffs applied at the CN8 level.The average annual Bank of England spot exchange rates for 2025was used to convert from GBP to NZD(availablehere). For NewZealandimports, estimated duty savings use MFN rates applied at CN8 level.  The Reserve Bank of New Zealand daily exchange rates (June-December 2023, 2024, and 2025) were used to convert from NZD to GBP (series ID EXR.DS11.D04, availablehere).

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The underlying data for the imports into the UK preference utilisation figures were sourced from HM Revenue and Custom's (HMRC) UK goods imports by tariff regime, February 2026 data. This data is provided on a country- of- origin basis.

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The methodology used to calculate UK preference utilisation rates can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/preference-utilisation-of-uk-trade-in-goods-technical-annex/preference-utilisation-of-uk-trade-in-goods-official-statistics-technical-annex#methodology-note-for-preference-utilisation-of-uk-trade-in-goods.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.