AI
Tuesday, December 17, 2013 3:50:19 AM
Ah. A TPP fan outside corporate USA, Tim Groser, New Zealand
Trade Minister is little concerned with the situation so far ..
Tim Groser adamant Trans-Pacific Partnership good for NZ
Monday, 23 September 2013, 9:20 am
Press Release: TV One
Sunday 22 September, 2013
Trade Minister Tim Groser is adamant that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be a good for the country.
“I am absolutely certain that this will be a great deal for New Zealand along the lines we’re negotiating.”
Tim Groser is confident the TPP will have a marginal impact on public institutions like Pharmac.
“It certainly won’t result in higher prices for pharmaceutical products for New Zealanders. This is really about protecting the model of Pharmac to ensure that they’re in a tough negotiating position with international pharmaceutical companies, and we’ve got some very good negotiators who are doing just that.”
Groser says parallel importing will continue as long as it’s consistent with intellectual property law.
“There’s some complicated issues about the interface of this with copyright and that’s a legitimate concern, and our negotiators will work their way through those issues.”
He concedes that this negotiation is the ‘most complicated negotiation’ that he has ever seen.
He denies concerns that Fonterra will have to be broken up.
“Fonterra is not at risk. This is a negotiating tactic used by those people who want to restrict New Zealand’s access into their market because this is something New Zealand’s deeply competitive, but we will work our way through those issues.”
Groser says the TPP will create thousands of jobs for New Zealanders and open up huge opportunities for our export industries.
“The crucial element …is that our principle export items are not excluded from comprehensive liberalisation. That’s the real red line. I think in terms of concerns around Pharmac, we’ve already made it abundantly clear that we will defend those public institutions, and we will ensure that there is policy space for future governments.“
He is defending the need for secrecy around the agreement.
“You have to understand this that if you put out texts into the public with different and conflicting negotiating positions, lobbies who are opposed to change will seize on that
text, will try to stop the negotiators showing any compromise. “
He says that we have already lowered the barriers to competitive imports in this country, almost more than any country in this negotiation and haven’t got much to lose.
“Frankly, we haven’t. If we were talking about where we were in the mid-‘80s, my goodness me, I remember when I was involved first in the Treasury and then in Foreign Affairs in the CER negotiations, where we had, you know, massive import licensing, high, high tariffs. “
Tim Groser hopes to have the TPP signed by the end of the year.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1309/S00247/tim-groser-adamant-trans-pacific-partnership-good-for-nz.htm
=====
I didn't know Mr. Groser, at all .. bits ..
Since then Groser has served as New Zealand's Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and as the WTO's chairman of agricultural negotiations. He was heavily involved in the Doha round of discussions.
[...]
Groser made international headlines in late 2012 when his governing National Party said New Zealand would be withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol. The climate minister said the 15-year-old agreement was outdated, and that New Zealand was "ahead of the curve" in looking for a replacement that would include developing nations.
In December 2012, the New Zealand Government announced that it was supporting Groser's bid to become the next Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, a position which will become vacant by the end of May 2013 with the retirement of Pascal Lamy. This bid was eventually unsuccessful. .. more .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Groser
=====
Ok. Hope personal ambition is not compromising his objectivity. Let's peek to see if any others wonder about that. (Nope, haven't looked, yet. It's more fun this way.) Chuckle. Hmm, this bit (about 3" down in the link below) does not directly relate to Groser's position on the TPP, but it does mention others have questioned whether or not personal ambition could be affecting his performance in his present roles. I'm posting more than need be in the hope that others find it as interesting as i did.
Excerpt from New Zealand Hansard Thursday, 21 March 2013 .. there are little, lol, bits in it ..
Ministers—Confidence in Climate Change Issues and Justice Ministers
12. Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes.
Dr Kennedy Graham: Does he have confidence in the Minister for Climate Change Issues, Tim Groser, to do his climate change job when he is spending so much time and public funds travelling the world promoting his candidacy for a new job as head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Yes. The achievements of Mr Groser in that regard speak for themselves.
Grant Robertson: Oh no, he’ll speak about them.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! It would be helpful if the Minister—
Hon David Parker: He’s never lost for words.
Mr SPEAKER: Some interjections are very good. It would be helpful now—
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: No, I am not lost for words; I am stunned by one of the best contributions he has ever made to a debate. Can I say that the record of the Hon Tim Groser as Minister speaks for itself. During the years 2000 to 2008 emissions from this country rose by 23 percent. In the last few years they have fallen.
Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am just checking whether it is appropriate for you as Speaker to say “hear, hear” to Grant Robertson’s interjection like that.
Mr SPEAKER: And I did not do so.
Dr Kennedy Graham: I seek leave to table a document listing the 16 capitals Mr Groser has visited in the past 8 weeks.
Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table a document that lists where Minister Groser has been. Is there any objection? [Interruption] Order! Was there any objection? There appears to be no objection.
Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.
Dr Kennedy Graham: Will he direct Mr Groser to find time before the end of his natural term in office to sit down and work out the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2020 and a pathway to it, given that his almost continuous absence is holding up the process?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I am quite sure that Mr Groser, who is well-known for his capacity to engage in conversation, will be raising climate change issues with people in each of those 16 countries he visits.
Dr Kennedy Graham: When Mr Groser recently urged trade colleagues in Geneva to “never underestimate the power of ideas”, as part of his WTO candidacy, did he have in mind a vision of a world with a stable climate or a world where he gets the job he wants?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: If the House had the time, I would spend it conveying Mr Groser’s visions on many matters.
Dr Kennedy Graham: Is there a new visionary ministerial portfolio for job hunting given Mr Groser has taken to adding “candidate for the position of World Trade Organization Director-General” as part of his title on his press releases?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The question line today simply confirms that the Greens do not want this country to progress in an economic sense, and see no value in trade liberalisation throughout the world. A party that preaches about—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order!
Dr Kennedy Graham: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The point of my questioning was not an opportunity for the Minister to extol trade virtues and our trade interests. It is a question of focusing on climate change issues.
Mr SPEAKER: Can I ask the member to at some stage over the next 24 hours have a look at his question, which talked about Mr Groser talking to trade Ministers. It was a pretty political question. It certainly was not a tight question. It gave every opportunity for the Minister to respond as he did.
Te Ururoa Flavell: Tena koe, Mr Speaker. Kia ora tatou. Does he have confidence in the Minister of Justice in appointing Dame Susan Devoy as Race Relations Commissioner, who has already courted controversy with her views that burkas are “disconcerting” and that Waitangi Day should be replaced with a new national holiday?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Yes. I have confidence in the Minister who was responsible for appointing a strong independent person to this important office. I think it is appropriate that whoever has that office does engage in a dialogue with New Zealanders about matters they are concerned about.
.. much more .. http://www.parliament.nz/mi-nz/pb/debates/debates/daily/50HansD_20130321/volume-688-week-37-thursday-21-march-2013
No prizes for guessing which side of the political spectrum spectrum the present New Zealand government is. Center-right according to .. New Zealand National Party .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_National_Party
Trade Minister is little concerned with the situation so far ..
Tim Groser adamant Trans-Pacific Partnership good for NZ
Monday, 23 September 2013, 9:20 am
Press Release: TV One
Sunday 22 September, 2013
Trade Minister Tim Groser is adamant that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be a good for the country.
“I am absolutely certain that this will be a great deal for New Zealand along the lines we’re negotiating.”
Tim Groser is confident the TPP will have a marginal impact on public institutions like Pharmac.
“It certainly won’t result in higher prices for pharmaceutical products for New Zealanders. This is really about protecting the model of Pharmac to ensure that they’re in a tough negotiating position with international pharmaceutical companies, and we’ve got some very good negotiators who are doing just that.”
Groser says parallel importing will continue as long as it’s consistent with intellectual property law.
“There’s some complicated issues about the interface of this with copyright and that’s a legitimate concern, and our negotiators will work their way through those issues.”
He concedes that this negotiation is the ‘most complicated negotiation’ that he has ever seen.
He denies concerns that Fonterra will have to be broken up.
“Fonterra is not at risk. This is a negotiating tactic used by those people who want to restrict New Zealand’s access into their market because this is something New Zealand’s deeply competitive, but we will work our way through those issues.”
Groser says the TPP will create thousands of jobs for New Zealanders and open up huge opportunities for our export industries.
“The crucial element …is that our principle export items are not excluded from comprehensive liberalisation. That’s the real red line. I think in terms of concerns around Pharmac, we’ve already made it abundantly clear that we will defend those public institutions, and we will ensure that there is policy space for future governments.“
He is defending the need for secrecy around the agreement.
“You have to understand this that if you put out texts into the public with different and conflicting negotiating positions, lobbies who are opposed to change will seize on that
text, will try to stop the negotiators showing any compromise. “
He says that we have already lowered the barriers to competitive imports in this country, almost more than any country in this negotiation and haven’t got much to lose.
“Frankly, we haven’t. If we were talking about where we were in the mid-‘80s, my goodness me, I remember when I was involved first in the Treasury and then in Foreign Affairs in the CER negotiations, where we had, you know, massive import licensing, high, high tariffs. “
Tim Groser hopes to have the TPP signed by the end of the year.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1309/S00247/tim-groser-adamant-trans-pacific-partnership-good-for-nz.htm
=====
I didn't know Mr. Groser, at all .. bits ..
Since then Groser has served as New Zealand's Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and as the WTO's chairman of agricultural negotiations. He was heavily involved in the Doha round of discussions.
[...]
Groser made international headlines in late 2012 when his governing National Party said New Zealand would be withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol. The climate minister said the 15-year-old agreement was outdated, and that New Zealand was "ahead of the curve" in looking for a replacement that would include developing nations.
In December 2012, the New Zealand Government announced that it was supporting Groser's bid to become the next Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, a position which will become vacant by the end of May 2013 with the retirement of Pascal Lamy. This bid was eventually unsuccessful. .. more .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Groser
=====
Ok. Hope personal ambition is not compromising his objectivity. Let's peek to see if any others wonder about that. (Nope, haven't looked, yet. It's more fun this way.) Chuckle. Hmm, this bit (about 3" down in the link below) does not directly relate to Groser's position on the TPP, but it does mention others have questioned whether or not personal ambition could be affecting his performance in his present roles. I'm posting more than need be in the hope that others find it as interesting as i did.
Excerpt from New Zealand Hansard Thursday, 21 March 2013 .. there are little, lol, bits in it ..
Ministers—Confidence in Climate Change Issues and Justice Ministers
12. Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes.
Dr Kennedy Graham: Does he have confidence in the Minister for Climate Change Issues, Tim Groser, to do his climate change job when he is spending so much time and public funds travelling the world promoting his candidacy for a new job as head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Yes. The achievements of Mr Groser in that regard speak for themselves.
Grant Robertson: Oh no, he’ll speak about them.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! It would be helpful if the Minister—
Hon David Parker: He’s never lost for words.
Mr SPEAKER: Some interjections are very good. It would be helpful now—
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: No, I am not lost for words; I am stunned by one of the best contributions he has ever made to a debate. Can I say that the record of the Hon Tim Groser as Minister speaks for itself. During the years 2000 to 2008 emissions from this country rose by 23 percent. In the last few years they have fallen.
Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am just checking whether it is appropriate for you as Speaker to say “hear, hear” to Grant Robertson’s interjection like that.
Mr SPEAKER: And I did not do so.
Dr Kennedy Graham: I seek leave to table a document listing the 16 capitals Mr Groser has visited in the past 8 weeks.
Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table a document that lists where Minister Groser has been. Is there any objection? [Interruption] Order! Was there any objection? There appears to be no objection.
Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.
Dr Kennedy Graham: Will he direct Mr Groser to find time before the end of his natural term in office to sit down and work out the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2020 and a pathway to it, given that his almost continuous absence is holding up the process?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I am quite sure that Mr Groser, who is well-known for his capacity to engage in conversation, will be raising climate change issues with people in each of those 16 countries he visits.
Dr Kennedy Graham: When Mr Groser recently urged trade colleagues in Geneva to “never underestimate the power of ideas”, as part of his WTO candidacy, did he have in mind a vision of a world with a stable climate or a world where he gets the job he wants?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: If the House had the time, I would spend it conveying Mr Groser’s visions on many matters.
Dr Kennedy Graham: Is there a new visionary ministerial portfolio for job hunting given Mr Groser has taken to adding “candidate for the position of World Trade Organization Director-General” as part of his title on his press releases?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The question line today simply confirms that the Greens do not want this country to progress in an economic sense, and see no value in trade liberalisation throughout the world. A party that preaches about—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order!
Dr Kennedy Graham: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The point of my questioning was not an opportunity for the Minister to extol trade virtues and our trade interests. It is a question of focusing on climate change issues.
Mr SPEAKER: Can I ask the member to at some stage over the next 24 hours have a look at his question, which talked about Mr Groser talking to trade Ministers. It was a pretty political question. It certainly was not a tight question. It gave every opportunity for the Minister to respond as he did.
Te Ururoa Flavell: Tena koe, Mr Speaker. Kia ora tatou. Does he have confidence in the Minister of Justice in appointing Dame Susan Devoy as Race Relations Commissioner, who has already courted controversy with her views that burkas are “disconcerting” and that Waitangi Day should be replaced with a new national holiday?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Yes. I have confidence in the Minister who was responsible for appointing a strong independent person to this important office. I think it is appropriate that whoever has that office does engage in a dialogue with New Zealanders about matters they are concerned about.
.. much more .. http://www.parliament.nz/mi-nz/pb/debates/debates/daily/50HansD_20130321/volume-688-week-37-thursday-21-march-2013
No prizes for guessing which side of the political spectrum spectrum the present New Zealand government is. Center-right according to .. New Zealand National Party .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_National_Party
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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