It agreed to start further discussions that will focus on the next steps required to formally launch negotiations, including the scope and overall approach.
The ministerial talks also included the climate change summit in Paris next month, Syria and the refugee crisis as well as agreements on customs and animal health issues, according to the communiqué.
“I am pleased that we are able to announce a critical first step toward an FTA that should provide greater access to European markets, and make it easier for Kiwi and EU companies to do business with one another," Mr Key says.
The FTA announcement builds on the EU’s recently revised Trade Policy Strategy, which sets out an increased focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
Trade Minister Tim Groser, who separately met EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, says such a deal with a mature economy of $20 trillion offers the opportunity to tap into the innovation, skills and capital to further develop New Zealand.
“More and more we see New Zealand and European exporters cooperating in order to supply growing world food demand,” he says.
“We look forward to updating the framework for our trade and economic relationship to reflect this, supporting the overall strengthening of our ties with our key historical and contemporary partners in the EU.”
In a statement, both sides agreed that the future deal should comprehensively address all of the issues concerning the current trade and investment relation.
"The shared aim is to create rules that correspond to the reality of global supply chains and the increasing international interdependence in manufacturing and provision of services. The future agreement would also promote transparency of rules, the fight against corruption and coherence between economic benefits, workers' rights and environmental protection."
Mr Groser says both sides also have internal processes, including Cabinet approval, to complete in order to obtain the more detailed mandates needed to begin the FTA negotiations, which will also include a similar FTA with Australia and probably take about two years to complete.
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BACKDOC: NO WONDER XI WANTS TO GET IN GOOD WITH THE VND, HE KNOWS IT WILL BE A SHINNING STAR FOR ALL TO SEE! AND HE KNOWS ITS PEOPLE WILL, " WHAT YOUR LIFE WILL TRULY BE" ! SORRY, EARTH WIND AND FIRE SONG!
ITS PEOPLE ARE ABOUT TO BE LAUNCH INTO THE FUTURE THROUGH TPP! DOC IMO
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Thunderhawk: Xi's Vietnam, Singapore trip to boost China-ASEAN ties
BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming trip to Vietnam and Singapore will be a big boost to China-ASEAN ties, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said Friday at a media briefing.
Xi's trip, scheduled from Nov 5 to 7, comes ahead of the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by year end.
As ASEAN member states, Vietnam and Singapore are China's friendly neighbors and important cooperation partners, Liu said.
Singapore took the rotating seat as coordinator for China-ASEAN relations this August.
Praising the reciprocal visits by Chinese and Singaporean top leaders, Liu said ties between the countries are a pioneering example for China-ASEAN relations.
Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam made a state visit to China from June 29 to July 4.
China is now Singapore's top trading partner, while Singapore is China's largest source of investment.
Xi will meet with President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and attend the signing ceremonies of cooperation pacts on finance, education, technology and urban governance.
Xi's Singapore trip, from Nov 6 to 7, is scheduled for after his state visit to Vietnam.
"This will be his first visit to Vietnam as the top leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the head of state," said Li Jun, senior official of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.
Xi will meet with the country's leaders, including general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.
China and Vietnam will sign a host of agreements on areas such as party-to-party cooperation, infrastructure, economy, trade, investment,culture and education.
"Despite the short time span of the visit, the achievements are expected to be fruitful," Li said.
Hailing the traditional friendship between China and Vietnam, Li said Xi's visit comes at a new stage of bilateral ties, as the two sides agreed to work together to link China's Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan.
"Xi's upcoming trip will be a successful visit and advance the development of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership," Li said.
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BACKDOC: THE THING TO GET HERE IS THAT AMRO WILL BE A REGIONAL PLAYER FOR THE IMF! IT WILL CONTROL ALL CURRENCIES THROUGH BILATERAL CURRENCY SWAPS TO EQUALIZE ALL COUNTRIES IN CASE THEY HAVE DISASTERS FINANCIALLY!! "THIS GLOBAL CONCEPT IS ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL"
DOC IMO
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Thunderhawk: To international organizations to the organization this year of the "Asian version IMF" to launch "CJK ASEAN + Japan"
[Singapore = Hideki Yoshimura] Japan, China, organized by such as South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, "ASEAN + 3 Macroeconomic Research Office" (AMRO, headquarters Singapore) is, be established as international institutions by the end of the year 21, it was found. As established by it "Asian version of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)", financial stability strengthening in the region where growth continues is expected.
AMRO to monitor the regional economy, involving greater on the judgment of the imposition of currency exchange agreements that funds each other flexibility to time, such as currency plunge "Chiang Mai Initiative".
Participating countries in October 2014, medium to Korea and conditions the ratification of key economic five countries of ASEAN such as Singapore Day, agreed to promote a AMRO to the mobility of high international agencies such as the IMF. Already, such as Japan has ratified the promotion. Remains the case that South Korea has been ratified by the National Assembly now, even in this year in December to be held the next time agency meeting at the earliest, it was pleased to present Opened as an international institution.
AMRO founded April 11. Currently, economists about 40 people from 13 countries and regions, are When examination of such financial condition of the agreement participating countries. First director the State Administration of Foreign Exchange born Gihon Fahrenheit of China, from May 12 has served as a root Yoichi born Ministry of Finance of Japan.
The foot in Indonesia and Malaysia, the currency depreciation is progressing who received the US interest rate hikes and China's economic slowdown. If AMRO attrition promoted to international organizations, it is expected to also contribute to the maintenance Southeast Asian economic growth.
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Backdoc: EVERY OIL PRODUCER WILL NEED TO MAKE SERIOUS CUTS BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE TPP COUNTRIES WILL HAVE PRICE STABILITY AND QUITE FAIR ACTUALLY! THE OVER PRODUCERS WILL END UP CHOKING ON THEIR EXTRA OIL ! NEGOTIATE? SURE! WE, AS TPP SET THE PRICE AND CONTROL THE SUPPLY! SO THERE!! HEE HEE DOC IMO
Thunderhawk: South Texas Experiences Deepest Oil Production Cuts
Crude price decline encourages energy companies to leave more projects in standby mode
American oil companies pulling back in the face of low crude prices are making the steepest production cuts in South Texas.
Oil output from the giant Eagle Ford field tumbled by almost 227,000 barrels a day, or 13%, between September and April, which marked the peak for the seven most prolific U.S. shale regions, according to federal estimates. That field’s drop accounted for 90% of the overall decline.
But that drop may be only temporary. Several of the biggest operators in the Eagle Ford are still drilling wells and putting off extracting the oil until prices rise. U.S. oil now sells for under $50 a barrel, less than half the price a year ago.
Leaving the oil in the ground from an unfinished well saves a company millions of dollars up front and provides it with reserves that can quickly be tapped if prices rebound, said Jason Wangler, an analyst with investment firm Wunderlich Securities Inc.
In South Texas, companies can take a wait-and-see approach without worrying about the weather impeding production—as it does for long stretches in snowy, cold-weather states like North Dakota.
“If a company wanted to walk away for six to nine months, they could really come back and pick up right where they left off,” said Jeremy Sherby, an analyst with energy consultants Wood Mackenzie. “That oil isn’t going anywhere as long as you hold access to the land.”
A 50-mile-wide rock formation that stretches from the Mexican border north and east past Austin, the Eagle Ford was first drilled in 2008 and quickly became the second-most prolific behind another Texas field, the Permian.
EOG Resources Inc., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., BHP Billiton PLC, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp.—the top five operators in the Eagle Ford and some of the biggest shale producers in the country—have reined in their oil pumping operations. The companies, which account for more than half the crude produced in the field, each completed at least 40% fewer wells last quarter compared with a year ago, according to NavPort LLC, a data analytics company focused on the oil and gas industry.
EOG told participants at an industry conference in mid-September that the company expected to have 320 drilled-but-uncompleted wells at the end of the year—mostly in the Eagle Ford. A spokeswoman said EOG expects to complete 44% fewer wells in the Eagle Ford this year compared with 2014.
Chesapeake and Marathon declined to comment. But a Marathon executive told analysts in August that the company completed 40% fewer wells from April through June than it did in each of the several previous quarters, “driving that production in Eagle Ford downward.”
BHP declined to comment on the NavPort data. But in an operational update released on Wednesday, the company said its oil output in the Eagle Ford has declined 29% since the end of the first quarter, though it is drilling more wells than in the past. The decision to pump from those wells “will be tailored to market conditions and we will exercise further flexibility should there be greater value in deferral,” the company said.
Anadarko didn’t respond to requests for comment.
‘The rates of return there are better than what they yield in the Bakken... ’
—Jonathan Cogan, U.S. EIA
Exco Resources Inc., a Dallas-based energy producer, this week said it was suspending its drilling program in South Texas because of low oil prices.
While acknowledging the field’s drop in production, Pearce Hammond, an analyst with investment bankers Simmons & Co. International, said he thinks government estimates of the Eagle Ford’s declining output are too steep.
“The rates of return there are better than what they yield in the Bakken, yet they have the Eagle Ford down at a higher percentage,” he said. “I just don’t buy it.”
Jonathan Cogan, a spokesman for the Energy Information Administration, said the agency’s numbers for the individual fields “are based on what we think is a sound methodology” but are projections nonetheless.
Data from the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates energy activity in the state, shows the South Texas field’s output peaking at 1.5 million barrels a day in January. As of August, it had fallen to just over 1.1 million barrels a day, a decline of 25% or 383,000 barrels a day.
http://ift.tt/1LIaHPfThunderhawk: MUST SEE
VIDEO: WTO New trade deal could propel global growth
CNN's Richard Quest discusses how providing aid for trade can lift the global economy with Roberto Azevedo, DG of World Trade Organisation
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Thunderhawk: Backdoc Alert
Largest U.S. banks face $120 billion shortfall under new rule
Six big U.S. banks need to raise an additional $120 billion, most likely in long-term debt, under a rule proposed on Friday by the Federal Reserve.
The requirements are aimed at ensuring that some of the biggest and most interconnected banks, which include Goldman Sachs Group Inc, (GS.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co, (JPM.N), and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), can better withstand another crisis by turning some of their debt, particularly debt issued by their holding companies, into equity without disrupting markets or requiring a government bailout.
The banks are expected to meet the $120 billion shortfall by issuing debt, which is usually more cost-effective than issuing equity, according to Federal Reserve officials speaking at a background press briefing Friday. The rule proposed Friday, largely in line with banks' expectations, concerns the lenders' total loss-absorbing capacity.
It is one of a series of rules aimed at reducing risk in the banking system by determining how much debt and equity banks should use to fund themselves.
In a procedural vote, the Fed's governors approved a draft of the proposal, meaning it will be submitted for public comment.
During a public meeting with Fed officials, one staffer who worked on the rule said banks should have an easy time complying, because many requirements overlapped with existing rules. Further, the bulk of the debt requirements can be fulfilled by refinancing existing debt, the staffer said.
Some requirements must be met by Jan. 1, 2019, while more-stringent requirements must be met by Jan. 1, 2022.
The requirements are most stringent for JPMorgan, followed by Citigroup Inc. (C.N) After that come Bank of America Corp, (BAC.N) Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, (MS.N) all of which have the same requirement. Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N) requirement is the next highest, followed by State Street Corp (STT.N) and finally Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK.N)
JPMorgan has more than $2 trillion in total assets, making it the largest U.S. bank by that measure.
The officials declined to say which two banks already meet the long-term debt requirements under Friday's proposal.
The rules also apply to U.S. operations of foreign globally systemically important banks, establishing roughly parallel requirements as those for U.S. banks, Fed officials said.
Also announced was a draft final rule establishing minimum margin requirements for swaps that are not cleared through an exchange. The rule is identical to one proposed by other regulators.
A Wells Fargo spokesman said in a statement the bank is reviewing the proposal and it appears to be in line with expectations. Representatives from the other banks either declined comment or were not immediately available.
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