Trade Minister Tim Groser is welcoming news that New Zealand will host the next round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations from December 3-12.
The announcement came after a meeting of TPP trade ministers in the margins of the APEC meetings in Vladivostok. New Zealand previously hosted a TPP round in December 2010.
"I'm very pleased that New Zealand will host delegations from TPP countries, and that we will play a central role in welcoming Canada and Mexico, whose participation marks a significant turning point in the negotiation and aligns with the original vision to create a truly regional, high quality, comprehensive, 21st century trade and investment agreement," Mr Groser said on Sunday.
Hundreds of negotiators from countries around the Asia Pacific region will attend the meeting in Auckland.
Jane Kelsey, a critic of the proposed agreement, says hosting the round will cost more than half a million dollars that should be spent on public policies that benefit New Zealanders.
"If the secrecy that has engulfed these negotiations continues, the taxpayers who are funding it will have no right to know what is actually going on," Dr Kelsey said.
She said stakeholder events have been crammed into one day when many of the relevant negotiators are not even around.
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