Ministers Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Damien O'Connor signed in London, on 28 February 2022, the Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In New Zealand the calendar date is 1 March, because of the time zone. Agreement in principle had been reached on 20 October 2021; Wikipedia conflates that conclusion with signature. The authentic text is English, in duplicate. UKTS publishes it as Treaty Series 36 (2023).

Article 1.1 establishes a free-trade area, consistent with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS. Chapter 33: amendments and termination (six months' written notice) are in writing; later British territorial extension is possible. Article 33.8 ties entry into force to notifications that domestic procedures are complete and to a date agreed in writing: 31 May 2023.

At application New Zealand lifts tariffs on all British goods; the United Kingdom lifts them at once on the great majority of New Zealand lines, with staging of up to 15 years for sensitive farm products through tariff-rate quotas. This is not a tariff-evasion or quota-filling handbook.

The 33 chapters cover services, investment, digital trade, government procurement, intellectual property, environment, labour, SMEs and a distinct chapter on Māori trade and economic cooperation, recognising Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There is an animal-welfare chapter. This is not a farm-operations or professional-recognition handbook.

Negotiations, launched on 17 June 2020, ran through six virtual rounds. Liz Truss led the British side until September 2021; at signature it was Trevelyan. GOV.UK also presented the deal as a step towards British accession to CPTPP. The Beehive announced the signature the next day, New Zealand time.

The New Zealand Parliament implemented the obligations in the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Legislation Act 2022, brought into force by order on 31 May 2023. Unlike a mere political close of talks, this is a signed instrument with domestic ratification.

Cover: Admiralty Arch in London — the photograph is of the signing city, not of the table. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: New Zealand–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement; Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the United Kingdom.