Closer Economic Relations

Closer Economic Relations

Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement
Lionel Bowen and Laurie Francis signing the agreement 28 March 1983
Type	Trade agreement
Signed	28 March 1983 (1983-03-28)
Location	Canberra, Australia
Effective	1 January 1983
Parties	Australia  New Zealand

The Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, commonly known as Closer Economic Relations (CER), is a free trade agreement between Australia and New Zealand. It came into force on 1 January 1983, but the actual treaty was not signed until 28 March 1983 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Trade, Lionel Bowen and the New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia, Laurie Francis in Canberra, Australia. This was because Malcolm Fraser and Robert Muldoon hated each other personally to such an extent that they refused to ratify the agreement if the other was there.^[1]