Despite increasing goodwill being shown in Washington to NZ at the personal level, NZ faces an increasingly uphill task to persuade the US administration to begin an FTA negotiation or unlock the stalled Doha Round at the WTO. There has also been no progress made on the Trans Pacific Economic Partnership (TPP) because of the crowded agenda, but there is wide support, including from unions. On other fronts there is some encouragement: Kurt Campbell the Assistant Secretary of State is saying the US should work more closely with NZ, the RNZAF’s Skyhawks may at last get State Dept approval for sale, and the proposal for a global alliance to research agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions is getting plenty of support, especially from the US food sector.

Trade Minister Tim Groser and Foreign Minister Murray McCully are in the US capital this week, Groser meeting US special trade representative Ron Kirk, McCully the Secretary of State and other top officials in the State Dept. The bilateral relationship is fixed and the two countries are in the process of taking the relationship to a higher level than it has been before.

Kirk may be a committed free trader, but President Obama has got international flak for protectionist moves, including from the Economist, which described his decision to slap tariffs on imported tyres from China as “economic vandalism.” Three FTA’s with US allies South Korea, Colombia and Panama languish in the US Congress, and Obama’s economic stimulus package earlier this year had strict “Buy America” provisions for public works programmes which effectively shut out imports. Another development to come out of the talks - expect a visit to NZ from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton some time next year.

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