A paper has been released exploring the prospects for a freer trade agreement between New Zealand and the EU.
Mr O'Reilly said the lack of a free trade agreement meant New Zealand faced tariffs on all major exports to the EU and also meant the new realities of two way trade, with increasing focus on manufactured and high technology goods, were not taken into account.
Many products from other countries gained preferential access to the EU because free trade agreements had been negotiated with those countries.
''The need for freer trade with the EU is critical. The EU also faces non tariff barriers when seeking to export to New Zealand. Both markets would benefit significantly from a new agreement,'' he said.
ExportNZ executive director Catherine Beard welcomed the Government's refreshed priorities for international trade.
The Government's Business Growth Agenda had been updated with a focus on completing the Trans Pacific Partnership, achieving a free trade agreement with the European Union and engaging more with emerging economies in Latin and South America.
''The TPP is still our major opportunity for external trade. It represents around 40% of world GDP, so our businesses stand to benefit greatly from equal access to those markets.''
New Zealand had more to gain from TPP than most countries because the highest tariffs always applied to primary products, which made up about two thirds of New Zealand's exported goods, Ms Beard said.
Work towards a free trade agreement with the EU and increased trade with Latin and South America were similarly well focused on large markets with good growth potential.
''In the absence of international progress towards a global multilateral trade agreement, a strong focus on large trade blocs represents New Zealand's best chances of improving our export earnings.''
United States President Barack Obama said last week he was confident Pacific Rim nations could nail down an agreement on a free trade pact this year but approval by the US Congress was not guaranteed.
Speaking to a group of corporate executives, Mr Obama said trade ministers should soon have an opportunity to close a deal on the 12 nation Trans Pacific Partnership.
In Ottawa, a Canadian official said chief negotiators would meet in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, September 26, and trade ministers would gather in the same city the following week.
''I'm confident that we can get it done, and I believe we can get it done this year,'' Mr Obama told the Business Roundtable.
The TPP, a centrepiece of Mr Obama's push to reassert US economic power in Asia, would link a dozen nations stretching from Japan to Chile that account for two thirds of the world economy and one third of global trade.
TPP trade ministers failed to clinch a deal at a meeting in late July, but they have said an agreement was within reach, despite some remaining thorny issues in some sectors such as vehicles and dairy.