Commonwealth FTA 'too ambitious,' exporters sayRNZ While Winston Peters talks up the prospects of a free trade deal with all Commonwealth countries, a trade expert has thrown cold water all over it. Talks of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Commonwealth countries is a waste of politicians' breath, the export industry says. ExportNZ executive director Catherine Beard said a multilateral trade deal between 53 countries was "too ambitious" with "a lot on the dance card" already. SUPPLIED ExportNZ executive director Catherine Beard says a multilateral trade between all 53 Commonwealth countries is "too ambitious". Manufacturers' Network chief executive Dieter Adam agreed, saying that from an economic perspective, the EU FTA should be top of the Government's priority list, the UK FTA second and a Russia FTA third.

Source: Stuff April 22, 2018 23:38 UTC