The Government's being urged to keep dairy as a make or break issue in trade negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership. 

There are fears dairy farmers will be thrown under the bus if the TPP negotiations are rushed.

Talks are underway in Atlanta in the United States, where the Prime Minister's holding out hope major progress will be made.

But New Zealand First is worried about Key's hopes, with trade spokesperson Fletcher Tabuteau saying it's not actually a good thing that Key wants to make progress given we've heard nothing more about a better deal for the dairy sector.

"If they can't even get an actual free trade agreement for our dairy industry that constitutes 35 percent of our exports, then they need to walk away."

He's concerned that Tim Groser and John Key see getting the TPP over the line as "some kind of personal victory", but he said rather the agreement has to be in the "best interests of all New Zealand".