National will boost trade missions to China, India and South-East Asia if it wins the November 26 election, Prime Minister John Key says.
Announcing National's trade policy at a Federated Farmers meeting in Wellington today, Key said a National government would target at least 28 high-quality trade missions led by Ministers over the next three years.
"Experience in Asia and India has shown the strong link between business and political partnerships in these countries," the National Party's trade policy document says.
"National will develop a programme of trade delegations, led by relevant sector Ministers, to undertake a comprehensive agenda of visits to emerging markets in Asia and other key areas."
"China and India will be a priority, but we will also focus and build on the Free Trade Agreement we have with ASEAN to develop the opportunities we have in these markets as we have done in China."
Agriculture policy
National has already said it will review placing agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2014, and only include it if new technologies became available to help the sector reduce its carbon emissions, and only then if New Zealand's trading partners had also made progress on climate change policies. See November 9 article: National would phase in ETS obligations for transport, electricity, industrial sectors; Will review Agriculture in 2014, will only put it in if technology to help is there.
National has also already released its primary sector policy (see and compare it here in our party policy - agriculture - section), the staple of which was NZ$400 million earmarked from 2013 onwards to invest in irrigation projects.
(Updates with video of Key on Renminbi & trade)
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