Business.Scoop » The $9 Billion Export Hurdle: Sector Outlines Path To Unlock Economy

Filed 1w ago · Via business.scoop.co.nz · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

ExportNZ says New Zealand exporters face more than $9 billion a year in costs from non-tariff barriers like certification requirements, technical standards and customs processes, with at least 83% of exports affected according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. On average, New Zealand products face nine separate non-tariff barriers per market entered.

The group's 2026 Pre-Election Blueprint calls for a National Export Readiness Programme, raising the R&D Tax Incentive from 15% to at least 25%, faster paperless trade systems, and a long-term national competitiveness strategy. Executive Director Joshua Tan says removing unnecessary barriers is one of the most direct ways the next government could cut costs for exporters.

ExportNZ Chair David Boyd says the blueprint reflects consistent exporter feedback and urges all political parties to work with business ahead of the election.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

A trade lobby publishing a wishlist right before an election and calling it a blueprint for the nation is not exactly a surprising sequence of events. The $9 billion figure is doing a lot of work here, and it's worth asking who benefits most from the fixes being proposed. Still, if the paperwork really is that bad, someone in government should probably read past the press release.

Source: Read the original at business.scoop.co.nz → Scored: Meatball Parade · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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