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New Zealand’s Objectives for the Pacific Closer Economic
Partnership (paper prepared for the launch of negotiations, 2002)
New Zealand’s objectives in the Pacific Three Closer Economic Partnership negotiations include:
Concluding a high quality, comprehensive agreement that will contribute to liberalisation and cooperation within the Asia-Pacific region and support trade liberalisation through the WTO
Making Pacific Three (P3) a business-friendly agreement that provides an enabling framework for development of commercial and broader linkages
Ensuring that P3 reflects New Zealand’s overall public policy and social objectives.
The following sections outline New Zealand’s main objectives for each part of the negotiation process.
Trade in goods
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Comprehensive coverage of all sectors
Reciprocal removal of all tariffs in as short a timeframe as possible
Avoidance of any specific measures to protect agricultural products
Prohibition of export subsidies.
Chile currently has a 6% tariff on all imports. (Singapore and New Zealand have already eliminated tariffs under the NZSCEP.) As Chile is not a major exporter of textiles, clothing and footwear, no significant impact on New Zealand’s more protected manufacturing sectors is anticipated from the removal of current tariffs.
Rules of origin
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Robust, enforceable provisions to prevent goods from countries other than the P3 partners benefiting from the agreement
Rules of origin that facilitate exports and minimise compliance costs for exporters from P3 countries.
Competition
New Zealand’s objectives are:
A competition-based framework with a wide scope of application
Specific commitments on domestic competition law and enforcement.
Trade remedies
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Retention of modified anti-dumping provisions as in NZSCEP
Prohibition of safeguard actions.
Sanitary and phytosanitary
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) provisions that are consistent with New Zealand’s WTO obligations and biosecurity regime
Facilitation of agricultural and horticultural exports, including through recognition of equivalence of SPS measures.
Standards and conformance
New Zealand’s objective is:
Reduction in business costs associated with technical barriers to trade.
Trade in services
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Reduction or removal of remaining barriers to New Zealand services exports
Enhanced recognition of New Zealand’s qualifications and professional registration regimes
Protection of the government’s provision, regulation and funding of public services at central and local levels
Protection of New Zealand’s regulatory approach.
The services commitments were scheduled using a “negative list” structure. This approach offered scope to clearly protect sensitive sectors such as public education, health, drinking water and cultural services. It also offered transparency and certainty to exporters in respect of access to P3 markets.
Investment
New Zealand’s objectives are:
A framework promoting free and open flows of investment among the P3 partners while ensuring that inward investment is in our national interest within the context of our Overseas Investment Commission regime
Transparency around foreign investment policy and decision-making
Careful exploration of dispute settlement provisions and related issues.
Intellectual property
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Certainty over the provision and enforcement of intellectual property rights and balance between the interests of rightholders and users of intellectual property
Provisions that are fully compliant with the WTO Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS)
Flexibility to deal with issues related to the protection of Māori traditional knowledge and cultural property.
Trade and labour
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Promotion of meaningful adherence to core labour principles, labour standards and decent work
Establishment of relationships based on dialogue and cooperation, with mechanisms that focus on problem solving rather than trade sanctions
Recognition that labour provisions should not limit fair competition.
Trade and environment
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Provision for adequate levels of environmental protection and enforcement of environmental laws
Establishment of relationships based on dialogue and cooperation, with mechanisms for solving problems that do not involve trade sanctions
Recognition that any measures to protect the environment are not used as a disguised form of economic protection
Preservation of the Government’s ability to regulate and enforce domestic legislation for the protection of New Zealand’s environment.
E-commerce
New Zealand’s objective is:
Facilitation of e-commerce trade.
Government procurement
New Zealand’s objectives are:
Provision for P3 exporters to compete on an equal basis with domestic suppliers for government contracts above a low threshold level
Transparency of supply opportunities
Prohibition of mandatory offsets
Commitments applied to local government on a “best endeavours” basis.
Cooperation
New Zealand’s objective is:
Provisions that provide a platform for mutually beneficial cooperation on trade-related issues among the P3 partners.
Dispute settlement
New Zealand’s objective is:
Effective state/state dispute settlement provisions in line with best international practice.
Treaty of Waitangi
New Zealand’s objective is:
Provision for New Zealand to adopt measures to accord more favourable treatment to Māori, including in fulfilment of obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi.
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