Key blames Labour for barrier to foreign buyer ban

Mon, 27 Jul 2015

By Pattrick Smellie July 27 (BusinessDesk) - Prime Minister John Key has blamed the way the Labour-led government of the 2000s structured the free trade agreement with China for making it impossible for a future government to impose a ban on land sales to foreign investors, even though he doesn't support such a ban. Labour had included "most favoured nation" clauses in the 2008 China FTA, which meant improved conditions in subsequent trade and investment pacts would have to apply to China as well as the country the new pact covered. Th...

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