US embassy cable - 04WELLINGTON973

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000973 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP A/S KELLY; DAS SCHRIVER; AND EAP/ANP 
NSC FOR MIKE GREEN AND CHUCK JONES 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LIZ PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2014 
TAGS: PREL, NZ 
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND: AMBASSADOR SWINDELLS TELLS IT LIKE IT 
IS TO PM CLARK 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES J. SWINDELLS, 
FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1.  (U)  On November 17, Prime Minister Helen Clark delivered 
an address at the American Chamber of Commerce Business 
Awards.  She described the importance to New Zealand of its 
economic relationship with the United States: The U.S. is New 
Zealand's second-largest trading partner, with two-way trade 
close to NZD 8 billion (USD 6 billion) annually.  Exports to 
the United States are about 15 percent by value of New 
Zealand's global exports, and American companies account for 
over NZD 12 billion (USD 9 billion) in investment and "many 
thousands" of jobs.  The Prime Minister also highlighted New 
Zealand's continued interest in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 
with the United States.  She said that her country would 
continue "to deploy diplomatic and other resources to build 
on our already considerable support in the United States" for 
an FTA, and claimed she would also make the same point to 
President Bush when she had the opportunity to talk to him at 
the upcoming APEC summit in Chile. 
 
2.  (C) After the speech, Ambassador Swindells, who was 
sitting next to PM Clark, said that he understood from his 
most recent phone conversation with Ambassador Wood in 
Washington that New Zealand was planning a full lobbying 
effort with the new Congress in hopes of getting legislators' 
support for a U.S.-New Zealand FTA.  She said yes -- New 
Zealand needs to have ties with the world's biggest economy. 
After noting that Congress (as does the Administration) 
remains appreciative of New Zealand's contributions to 
Afghanistan and Iraq, the Ambassador asked whether she was 
concerned that members of the Senate Armed Services Committee 
and others on the Hill might speak up against an FTA because 
of their strong feelings about New Zealand's anti-nuclear 
legislation.  At this, the Prime Minister fell silent. 
 
3.  (C) The Ambassador continued by noting that Congress 
would want to know if New Zealand would show any flexibility 
on the nuclear issue.  PM Clark responded that she welcomed 
the idea of a Coast Guard ship visit.  The Ambassador said 
that he had already suggested this, but that the Navy had 
said that a visit would send the wrong signal and he had to 
agree.  He said that if he raised the idea again, the Navy 
(and others in Washington) would ask him what the United 
States could expect from New Zealand in return.  Ambassador 
Swindells said that he thought Washington would want to know 
there would be movement on the NZ side, and welcomed PM 
Clark's thoughts on this. 
 
4.  (C) Earlier in the dinner, Ambassador Swindells asked 
whether PM Clark intended to invite the President to New 
Zealand.  She said yes, in conjunction with the 50th 
anniversaries of the U.S. and New Zealand bases in 
Antarctica.  She said that she believed the majority of New 
Zealanders would welcome such a visit. 
 
5.  (C) Comment:  The Prime Minister has now heard directly 
the message that the Ambassador and the rest of the Embassy 
will convey in the months ahead: if New Zealand wants to 
further the bilateral relationship, it must reexamine the 
limits its nuclear policy has put on our ties. 
 
 
Swindells