Lisa Futschek: Seafood New Zealand CEO on exporters paying unnecessary tariffs to the UK despite Free Trade Agreements

The seafood industry isn't making the most of free trade deals. 

FTAs with the UK, European Union, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership eliminated tariffs on some seafood. 

However, at the recent Seafood Conference, it was revealed a large part of the industry is still paying. 

Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive Lisa Futschek told Mike Hosking they're working to figure out what's causing this problem. 

She says it appears to be at the importer end where the paperwork is not being filled in correctly. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It seems odd, but it was revealed at a recent
seafood conference that exporters are still paying tariffs on there
are goods despite the fact they can access the benefits
of free trade deals. In other words, they should be
paying no tariffs at all, but forty percent of them
are paying unnecessary tariffs, for example, to the UK. So
what's going on here? Our Seafood New Zealand CEO Lisa
Putchick is with us on this. Lisa, very good morning
to you.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
This is the weirdest story, is it true? Look, it's
not a.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Weird story at all. We've uncovered the fact that it
appears that we are not taking full advantage of a
range of free trade agreements that m FAT has very
very successfully negotiated on our part. So we're in the
process of getting to the bottom of why that is
and to give ourselves the ability to sort it out.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Why would you not be taking full advantage?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
We absolutely should be taking full advantage, but we're just
trying to understand exactly where the problem lies. It appears
that it is not necessarily with our exporters, but at
the import end, because of course it's not our exporters
that pay the tawiff. It's their import agents.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Right, So would if I export muscles, do I know
who my import agent is? And do I deal with
them on a regular basis? And would I say something like, hey,
by the way, you do realize we're terror free. Would
that level of communication be going on or not?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Look, presumably it is, but I think it's probably fair
to say that it's a little bit more complicated than that,
because of course we're dealing with multiple species, probably an
excess of one hundred that we export to one hundred
and ten different markets, and obviously those are exported by
a full range of exporters. So it's a little bit
more complicated, Mike, And we're just getting to the bottom

(01:43):
of understanding exactly where the problem lies.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Because what wouldn't your average person who's exporting know about
the free trade deal with Britain and know about the
CPTPP for example. I mean, that's in the news. It's
all it's part of what we do.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yes, that's correct. We do know about that, and to
the best of our knowledge, we were accessing it, and
to be honest, we're not entirely sure the extent to
which we're not, which is why we are talking to
m FAT. We are working at pace to understand the
problem so that we can help our members to access
it and get the full benefits on those intes.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
So when the bloke from NB was at this conference
and he estimates FAT estimates forty percent of exporters to
the UK, for example, still paying a terriff, you have
no idea whether that's correct or not.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Look, that's correct. We do need to validate the statistics
and some of this information is of course commercially sensitive.
So we're just working with m FAT to understand where
the issue lies and hopefully by the end of the
week will be in a much better position to understand
what that is and how we can help our exporters
take full advantage of these FTAs well.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Without looking to upset you so early in the morning.
Is this partially on you in terms of you're not
communicating with your industry, or is it on them and
they're not communicating with you who aren't communicating with their industry,
or is it the fisherman's fault who should know what's
going on?

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, look at the stage, we're just not a portioning
blame anywhere. We want to understand the issue so that
we can address it.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
All right, listen, we'll get you back on when you do.
You reckon. By the end of the week you might
have something.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
I think by the end of the week we will
be closer. But I'd be very happy to come back
on once we understand what the issue is and how we're
seeking to address that.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Fantastic love to talk to you again, Lisa Footchick, who
is the Seafood New Zealand CEO. It just seems boring
on inconceivable to me that as an exporting nation we're
not on top of the exporting rules, or am I
being unfair? I mean, I've already given you a dodgy
garage information this morning, so from who the hell knows
what's going on.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
News Talks it'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.