Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has launched a bid to establish a direct flight from Auckland Airport to Brazil's Sao Paulo.

He believes this could boost trade between New Zealand and Brazil by up to $1.5 billion a year.

NZIER Principal Economist Chris Nixon says this is a good idea - and could open up new opportunities for New Zealand.

"Given the mayhem which is happening in the United States at the moment and their incoherent economic policies - we've got to be innovative." 

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