New Zealand exporters are facing more than $9 billion a year in costs from non-tariff barriers, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade figures cited by ExportNZ.
It said focusing on identifying and removing those unnecessary obstacles could help boost economic growth.
The call is one of 14 action points in ExportNZ’s Grow Locally, Compete Globally report, which sets out recommendations aimed at helping more New Zealand businesses successfully navigate international markets.
ExportNZ said MFAT data showed 83 percent of the country’s exports were affected by non-tariff barriers, with products facing an average of nine separate obstacles across the markets they entered.
Executive director Joshua Tan said the barriers had become one of the biggest constraints on export growth, even as free trade agreements reduced traditional tariffs.
Tan said local businesses already had to contend with distance, freight costs and limited scale.
“New Zealand is a small country exporting from a long way away. Our businesses can’t afford to be hamstrung by over-the-top regulatory requirements that often shift without warning.”
Non-tariff barriers can include onerous certification requirements, technical standards, labelling rules, customs processes and differing regulations between markets.
ExportNZ said even one technical or certification issue could make a potentially valuable market commercially unviable, particularly for smaller exporters.
Tan said negotiating more free trade agreements was only part of the answer.
“New Zealand must have the capability to defend the access it provides and help businesses convert that access into actual sales.”
The blueprint also calls for a national export readiness programme, faster uptake of paperless trade systems, more research and development support, and better coordination between government agencies and exporters.