Australia and New Zealand vowed to deepen trans-Tasman trade cooperation on Friday, as ministers from both countries pledged closer coordination on supply chains, energy security and reform of the World Trade Organization amid what they called a fundamental shift in the global geopolitical and geoeconomic environment. Read Here
New Zealand Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay hosted Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell in Auckland for the annual Closer Economic Relations Ministerial Meeting. The ministers said the Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement and the Single Economic Market continued to deliver tangible benefits for both economies, and welcomed progress made over the past year to enhance the market framework.
The ministers said the relationship had taken on new importance given global shifts and risks to shared national and economic security, and as export-driven economies, committed to building regional resilience through diversified trade, resilient supply chains and continued support for open, rules-based markets.
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Energy security featured prominently in the talks. The ministers discussed the impact of global energy disruptions on their economies and on the cost of living, welcoming continued cooperation on national fuel strategies, including efforts to secure critical supplies and expand strategic reserves.
On regulation, the ministers welcomed a new standards agreement between Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand aimed at reducing trade barriers and modernizing cross-border standards cooperation, and discussed strengthening the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement and government procurement commitments.
On multilateral trade, the ministers backed World Trade Organization reform, including restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement system and broadening participation in the interim appeals arrangement. As members of the Cairns Group, they discussed pathways to break the impasse in agriculture trade reform and welcomed a new plurilateral agreement on electronic commerce, agreed at the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference, with an ambition to bring it into force in 2027.
The two countries also discussed the CPTPP, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, welcoming progress made in 2026 to expand and modernize the CPTPP, and reaffirmed commitments to Indigenous trade initiatives as Australia assumes the chairing role of the IPETCA arrangement from New Zealand.
The ministers said they would continue collaborating on net-zero transition approaches while upholding the rules-based trading system, and welcomed proposals from the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum to strengthen trans-Tasman economic security and the business environment.
The statement closed with both sides reaffirming a shared vision for a resilient, integrated and forward-looking trans-Tasman economic relationship.