The European Union has given the green light to the free trade agreement with New Zealand, an alliance that will aid trade and investment, and promote a closer economic relationship between the two sides. This will generate significant opportunities for businesses and consumers in both countries. After coming into force in early 2024, the European Commission estimates that bilateral trade will grow by up to 30%, and annual EU exports will increase by up to €4.5 billion.

To achieve these objectives, the bilateral agreement recommends using accreditation bodies and international recognition agreements as tools to overcome technical barriers to trade between the two markets:

“If a party requires third-party conformity assessment as a positive assurance that a product conforms with a technical regulation, and it has not reserved this task to a governmental authority as specified in paragraph 4, it shall:

a) give preference to the use of accreditation to qualify conformity assessment bodies

b) use international standards for accreditation and conformity assessment

c) where practicable, use international agreements involving the Parties’ accreditation bodies, for example, through the mechanisms of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (hereinafter referred to as IAF)”.

This new recognition once again ratifies accreditation's value to opening the way into foreign markets, helping to reduce or eliminate this type of obstacle, thanks to its international recognition.