Why did New Zealand need to find new trade markets after Britain joined the European Community?

New Zealand needed to find new trade markets after the United Kingdom joined the European Community (later the European Union) because the U.K. had previously been the primary destination for New Zealand’s agricultural exports.1

This shift, combined with high tariffs imposed by major industrial nations on New Zealand’s agricultural products—such as butter and meat—contributed to a severe economic recession in the early 1970s. To address these challenges and move away from slow economic growth, New Zealand sought to diversify its economy by finding new markets, expanding its manufacturing base, developing new products like wine and paper, and entering into various free-trade agreements.12