Christopher Luxon thinks other countries may join landmark Singapore food for fuel deal

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he discussed the potential for other countries to join a landmark deal that ensures essential supplies like fuel and pharmaceuticals make their way to New Zealand during a crisis.

The deal, signed between New Zealand and Singapore today ensures essential supplies like food and fuel will continue to move between the countries during times of crisis.

Singapore, which imports 90% of its food, will continue to get food from New Zealand, while New Zealand, which imports 100% of its refined fuels (petrol, diesel, and jet fuel), will continue to get fuel from Singapore.

The deal guarantees neither country imposes export restrictions on the other for an agreed list of goods.

So far, some of the essentials identified by New Zealand and Singapore include food, fuels, medical equipment and construction materials.

Luxon said he discussed with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong the potential for other countries to sign up to the deal.

Luxon said the pair discussed whether there were “other countries that we might be able to bring into it”.

“There’s potentially a group of countries that might be interested in that,” Luxon said, speaking to media after the signing.

Luxon noted the landmark CPTPP trade deal started with just a handful of members, before growing.

Wong said the agreement was the first of its kind and would ensure the two nations did not shut each other out during times of stress.

“We will not shut each other out. This matters because in difficult times every country will be tempted to look inward and when that happens, supply chains break and everyone ends up worse off.”

The signing comes against the backdrop of global volatility, which has manifested itself in New Zealand with increasing fuel prices and a spotlight on how much fuel the nation has access to following the war in Iran and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies (AOTES) will be wrapped into New Zealand and Singapore’s existing free trade agreement. It follows similar agreements made during Covid to maintain supply chains and ensure tariffs and other trade barriers were not imposed on essential goods.

Luxon, who held a joint press conference from Singapore today alongside Wong, said the “sky is the limit” with the agreement’s potential. Both leaders were open to other nations in the region joining the agreement.

“Here, we have New Zealand and Singapore inventing new trade architecture and conceiving of new ways to build partnership and relationship,” Luxon said.

“We are also prepared to say to other countries ... if you can meet the standard ... and have each other’s backs in the way that we model that out, we would welcome that as well.”

In the context of global instability and supply chain disruptions, nations like New Zealand and Singapore were small, Luxon said.

“We have values and interest and while we may not have power, the way we (can) have power and influence is by working together in the way you have seen us increasingly do.”

Luxon, travelling with Finance Minister Nicola Willis spent the day in Singapore meeting with fuel companies that had a base in the city state.

He said the meetings left him reassured about fuel supplies.

“While supply out of the Middle East is constrained they’ve done a good just hustling around the world to find different feed stock,” Luxon said.

Luxon said he felt “pretty reassured” from what he’d heard.

Willis said the refiners were adapting to refining different feed stocks.