The first United States-New Zealand Partnership Forum in Washington DC put the case for closer economic relations to some influential Americans. But a free trade agreement (FIA) is still a distant prospect and that should be a concern to the forest industry. Americans often pride themselves on being the "indispensable nation". When it comes to the New Zealand forest industry, the United States is an indispensable source of investment and revenue, as well as innovation and business ideas. Even with the departure of International Paper, American interests continue to own around 30% of the forest estate. And the US is the third largest market for forest product exports, valued at NZ 445 million dollar to the year ended June 2005.
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