Britain's High Commissioner Laura Clarke speaks to Sam Sachdeva about 'picking up the pace' on free trade talks and whether New Zealand is lagging behind on China
In a speech to the NZ Institute of International Affairs last month, British High Commissioner Laura Clarke noted a striking fact: the combined GDP of autocratic regimes is set to overtake that of democracies in the coming decade.
That expectation, and the possible effects for trade and geopolitics, have coloured much of the recent interactions between the United Kingdom and New Zealand – in some cases as background context, in others more explicitly.
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor and his British counterpart Liz Truss last week announced the two countries had agreed to “rapidly lift the tempo of talks” on a bilateral free trade deal, with the aim of wrapping up an agreement “in the coming months”.
The timeframe is more nebulous than that for Britain’s trade talks across the ditch, with suggestions a deal with Australia could be signed in June.
But speaking to Newsroom, Clarke says that gap is due to the “external deadline” of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s trip to the UK-hosted G7 summit that month, rather than differing ambition or appetite.
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Nor does the New Zealand announcement indicate disappointment with the pace so far, with four rounds of negotiations having already taken place, a number of chapters provisionally closed and the overall architecture of the agreement set down.
“It's been strikingly positive, considering that we're doing it all remotely, virtually, and you're not able to go to the pub at the end of the session or anything like that...
“I suppose it's our government's desire to just get cracking on stuff, you know, and now we're out of that EU transitional period, we're into the next phase of building our trade networks, you know, of really going out there and strengthening all these relationships.”
“Trade is never just about trade, right? It's also about strengthening relationships, it's also political, it's also geopolitical, and I do think it's really important."
While O’Connor has flagged the Government’s concerns with the current UK offer on agricultural market access - a perennial problem area in New Zealand trade talks - the UK has its own priorities too, with Clarke noting the desire for a high-ambition services chapter governing access for financial services, professional services and other sectors.
“I'm really confident that we will get it in a good place that really, each side can hold up and say, this is a really good result for our country, both in terms of gains for our economies...but also on it speaking to our wider priorities on things like gender equality, or indigenous trade and opportunities in that space or the sustainability provisions.”
Then there are the geopolitical benefits of a deal, with Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta having recently spoken, in an address on the NZ-China relationship, about the dangers of economic overexposure to a single country.
“Trade is never just about trade, right? It's also about strengthening relationships, it's also political, it's also geopolitical, and I do think it's really important,” Clarke says.
“I think that's something that's very clear in New Zealand's priorities, and also for us, that you need to have a broad range of trade partners, you can't put all your eggs into one basket, and you've got to make sure that if something goes wrong in a certain part of the world, or with a certain relationship, you're not really, really struggling as a consequence.”
A 'tilt' to the Indo-Pacific
The UK has been undergoing its own geopolitical adjustment, announcing in March a ‘tilt’ towards the Indo-Pacific. Clarke says that move is a recognition of the growing economic weight held by countries in the region, as well as the increased competition and jockeying for position.
Among the real-world ramifications are the UK’s successful application to become a dialogue partner of ASEAN, its aspirations to join the CPTPP trade deal, and impending regional visit by a fleet of Royal Navy warships.
New Zealand’s own role within the Indo-Pacific has come into question from some elements of the British press who have accused the Government of cosying up to China, while UK Conservative MP Bob Seely suggested the country was “in a hell of an ethical mess”.
But Clarke says the UK and New Zealand, along with other like-minded partners, “generally are very much of the same analysis” when it comes to the major threats and opportunities in the world, as well as the importance of defending democracy and the rules-based order.
“But of course, we will have our independent foreign policy, New Zealand has its independent foreign policy, [and] New Zealand will speak out publicly in the way that it sees fit.”
While much of the criticism has focused on Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s declaration that New Zealand was uncomfortable with efforts to expand remit of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, Clarke says our government has “quite rightly” pointed out the network does not have a monopoly on human rights issues.
"In a way, we don't help ourselves talking about Five Eyes when we're not really talking about intelligence."
“New Zealand has said it would like to see other groupings, other coalitions...to progress some of these issues, and so we look forward to seeing how that develops and supporting [them] as necessary.”
“My personal view,” she adds, “is that, in a way, we don't help ourselves talking about Five Eyes when we're not really talking about intelligence.
“In a way, we should talk about Five Eyes when we're talking about the intelligence work and then find some other term [like] Five Countries, which we do for Home Affairs ... I think that's a bit more useful, because I think it's a term that doesn't play well including in the public.”
Areas of human rights concern with China, such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang, should not overshadow positive areas of cooperation including climate change and people-to-people connections, she says.
“It's really about cooperating where we can and where it is in our mutual interest, but also being clear about our own national interest, what's in the interest of our national security, and what is in line with our values.”
The UK’s autonomous sanctions regime and modern slavery legislation - both tools New Zealand currently lacks - have enabled it to back up its values-based foreign policy with tangible consequences.
“Our Foreign Secretary talks about wanting the UK to be a force for good in the world, but you need some tools to make that happen, and so we can put sanctions on certain individuals or entities that show that there is actually a price to certain actions, you know, it means that you can't travel or you have your assets frozen, or whatever, and that sends quite a strong signal.”
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