New Zealand, Singapore can 'model' benefits of free and rules-based trade, says PM Jacinda Ardern
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that although Singapore and New Zealand are small nations, they can continue to ensure the relevance and support for institutions such as the WTO that uphold a rules-based order.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
SINGAPORE - The kiwi fruit in your nearest supermarket are not about to get cheaper just yet. But the enhanced partnership and the upgraded free trade agreement that Singapore and New Zealand signed off on Friday (May 17) are attempts at upholding good practices at a time when the global trading system is fraying.
As the world's two largest economies, the United States and China, slap tit-for-tat trade restrictions on each other and choose a transactional approach over World Trade Organisation (WTO) mechanisms to resolve disputes in their relationship, the two small and like-minded nations of New Zealand and Singapore can "model" the benefits of free and rules-based trade, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told The Straits Times on Friday.
