On the 1st of October, a Free Trade Agreement between China and New Zealand came into force.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and New Zealand was signed on the 24th of July. It was passed with a 104 for and 17 votes against in the New Zealand Parliament on the 7th of April. The Trade Minister Phil Goff was quoted as saying that the new FTA offered great opportunity for New Zealand to move into the world’s fastest growing market (China).

The most noticeable effect that will be felt on October 1st, is the abolishment of some tariffs on exports to China. The initial tariff cut was to any tariffs that were at or below five percent, roughly equating to 35% of all exports to China and 38.6% of imports from China. It is intended that the FTA will eliminate tariffs on exports by 2019.

For more details on the exact tariffs under the new agreement can be found in the New Zealand China FTA website .