The United Kingdom has thrown its dairy sector under the bus with a new trade deal with New Zealand that includes eliminating tariffs on dairy products within five years.
There will be transitional quotas for butter and cheese.
Fonterra welcomed the news with chief executive Miles Hurrell describing it as “a fantastic result for New Zealand.”
In an article published in March about a future trade deal with New Zealand, Tom Forshaw highlighted that he saw securing a trade deal as an important pre-requisite to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
There will be opportunities for UK agricultural exports to this broader group – so the deal with New Zealand might represent short-term pain before we get some gains in the longer term, he said.
