Japan has been welcomed into the TPP negotiations says NZ Trade Minister Tim Groser. “We believe that Japan’s participation in the negotiations will contribute to the objective of creating a 21st-Century agreement that will spur economic growth and development, promote innovation, benefit our consumers, and support the creation and retention of jobs, higher living standards and the reduction of poverty …

Key’s visit initiative will have a tremendous impact on forestry. Especially if supported by positive follow up action from NZ bureaucrats in tariff reduction.  This will certainly boost lumber exports, a reprieve from the death sentence for the kiwi saw mills and thousands of jobs in our heartlands. The other major thrust required is to remove non tariff trade barriers …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.8 percent fall against the greenback as optimism about the health of the global economy fades, sapping demand for risk-sensitive assets. The kiwi rose to 84.34 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 84.11 cents at 8am, down from 84.52 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.81 at 5pm from 78 …