Title
Protocol to Amend the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership
Preamble
The Government of New Zealand and the Government of the Republic of Singapore (the Parties),
REAFFIRMING their longstanding friendship and growing trade and investment relationship;
RECALLING the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership done at Singapore on 14 November 2000, and which entered into force on 1 January 2001, with subsequent amendments (the Agreement);
RECOGNISING that the strengthening of their trade and economic relationship through the establishment of an Enhanced Partnership between the Parties will produce mutual benefits for the Parties;
DETERMINED as part of this Enhanced Partnership to deepen their trade and economic relationship through an upgrade of the Agreement;
BUILDING on their respective rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement and other multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements and arrangements to which they are party;
COMMITTED to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) goals and principles and to furthering the Parties' economic leadership in the Asia Pacific region, in particular by seeking to reduce barriers to trade and investment in the region;
CONFIRMING their shared commitment to facilitating trade and investment and reducing the costs for business;
RECOGNISING the role regulatory cooperation can play in facilitating trade by reducing the impact of differences in domestic regulatory settings;
SEEKING to facilitate regional trade by promoting efficient and transparent customs procedures that reduce costs and ensure predictability for their traders;
CONFIDENT that an improved and modern framework of rules for investment will promote and facilitate investment between the Parties;
RECOGNISING the increasing role of electronic commerce, the economic growth opportunities it provides, and the importance of frameworks that provide certainty for businesses, protection for consumers and build trust in cross-border electronic commerce;
REAFFIRMING their commitment to the APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform with a view to enhancing economic efficiency through the bolstering of competition in markets, the curtailing of anti-competitive activities and the promotion of consumer protection;
REAFFIRMING the importance of promoting corporate social responsibility, cultural identity and diversity, environmental protection and conservation, gender equality,
indigenous rights, labour rights, inclusive trade, sustainable development and traditional knowledge, as well as the importance of preserving their right to regulate in the public interest; and
DESIRING to further economic integration and trade liberalisation between the Parties,
HAVE AGREED to amend the Agreement in accordance with Article 82 of the Agreement, as follows:
Body
Article 1. Amendment of the Agreement
The Parties agree to amend the Agreement by replacing Parts 1 to 11 and Annexes 1 to 4 of the Agreement with the text set out in the Appendix to this Protocol.
Article 2. Entry Into Force
The Parties shall notify each other in writing upon the completion of their respective
domestic legal procedures required for the entry into force of this Protocol. This Protocol shall enter into force on the date specified in such exchange of notes.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised by their respective governments, have signed this Protocol.
DONE in duplicate at Singapore this 17" day of May 2019.
For New Zealand:
Hon Damien O'Connor
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth
For the Republic of Singapore:
S Iswaran
Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations
Attachments
APPENDIX
Chapter 1. OBJECTIVES AND GENERAL DEFINITIONS
1.1. Objectives
The objectives of New Zealand and Singapore in concluding this Agreement are:
(a) to strengthen their bilateral relationship through the establishment of a closer economic partnership;
(b) to liberalise bilateral trade in goods and services and to establish a framework conducive to bilateral investments;
(c) to support the wider liberalisation process in APEC and in particular the efforts of all APEC economies to meet the Bogor goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010 at the latest for industrialised economies and 2020 at the latest for developing economies;
(d) to support the World Trade Organization (WTO) in its efforts to create a predictable, freer and more open global trading environment;
(e) to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of their goods and services sectors and expand trade and investment between each other;
(f) to establish a framework of transparent rules to govern trade and investment between them; and
(g) to encourage, promote and protect the flow of investment between the Parties.
1.2. General Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided In this Agreement:
APEC means Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation;
customs administration means the competent authority that is responsible under the laws of a Party for the administration of customs laws, regulations and, where applicable, policies, and has for each Party the following meaning:
(a) for New Zealand, the New Zealand Customs Services; and
(b) for Singapore, Singapore Customs.
customs duty includes any duty or charge of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation of a good, and any surtax or surcharge imposed in connection with such importation, but does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article I1.2 of the GATT 1994;
(b) fee or other charge in connection with the importation commensurate with the cost of services rendered; or
(c) antidumping or countervailing duty;
Customs Valuation Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
days means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;
enterprise means any entity constituted or organised under applicable law, whether or not for profit, and whether privately or governmentally owned or controlled, including any corporation, trust, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association or similar organisation;
GATS means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, set out in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;
GATT 1994 means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
goods means any merchandise, product, article or material;
Harmonized System or HS means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes, Chapter Notes and Subheading Notes as adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective laws;
Joint Commission means the Singapore - New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership Joint Commission established under Article 15.1 (Joint Commission);
national means a "natural person who has the nationality of a Party" according to the following definitions, or a permanent resident of a Party:
(a) for New Zealand, a natural person who is a citizen as defined in the Citizenship Act 1977, as amended from time to time, or any successor legislation;
(b) for Singapore, a person who is a citizen of Singapore within the meaning of its Constitution and its domestic laws;
originating good or originating material means a good or material that qualifies as originating in accordance with Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin);
person means a natural person or an enterprise; person of a Party means a national or an enterprise of a Party;
Protocol means the Protocol to Amend the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership done at Singapore on 17 May 2019;
remanufactured good means a good that is entirely or partially composed of recovered materials and:
(a) has a similar life expectancy and performs the same as or similar to such a good when new; and
(b) has a factory warranty similar to that applicable to such a good when new;
Revised Agreement on Government Procurement means the Agreement on Government Procurement in Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement as amended by the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement done at Geneva on 30 March 2012;
territory means:
(a) for New Zealand, the territory of New Zealand and the exclusive economic zone, seabed and subsoil over which it exercises sovereign rights with respect to natural resources in accordance with international law, but does not include Tokelau; and
(b) for Singapore, its land territory, internal waters and territorial sea, as well as any maritime area situated beyond the territorial sea which has been or might in the future be designated under its national law, in accordance with international law, as an area within which Singapore may exercise sovereign rights or jurisdiction with regards to the sea, the sea-bed, the subsoil and the natural resources;
TRIPS Agreement means the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, set out in Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement;' and
WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994.
For greater certainty, a reference in this Agreement to the TRIPS Agreement includes any waiver in force between the Parties of any provision of the TRIPS Agreement granted by WTO Members in accordance with the WTO Agreement.
Chapter 2. TRADE IN GOODS
2.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
AD Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
advertising films and recordings means recorded visual media or audio materials, consisting essentially of images or sound, showing the nature or operation of goods or services offered for sale or lease by a person of a Party, that are of a kind suitable for exhibition to prospective customers but not for broadcast to the general public;
Agreement on Agriculture means the Agreement on Agriculture, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
commercial samples of negligible value means commercial or trade samples: having a value, individually or in the aggregate as shipped, of not more than one U.S. dollar or the equivalent amount in the currency of either Party; or so marked, torn, perforated or otherwise treated that they are unsuitable for sale or for use except as commercial samples; consular transactions means requirements that goods of a Party intended for export to the territory of the other Party must first be submitted to the supervision of the consul of the importing Party in the territory of the exporting Party for the purposes of obtaining consular invoices or consular visas for commercial invoices, certificates of origin, manifests, shippers' export declarations, or any other customs documentation required on or in connection with importation; consumed means, with respect to a good:
(a) actually consumed; or
(b) further processed or manufactured:
(i) so as to result in a substantial change in the value, form or use of the good; or
(ii) in the production of another good;
distributor means a person of a Party who is responsible for the commercial distribution, agency, concession or representation in the territory of that Party of goods of the other Party;
duty-free means free of customs duty;
export subsidy means a subsidy as defined in Article 3 of the SCM Agreement and includes export subsidies listed in Article 9 of the Agreement on Agriculture;
goods admitted for sports purposes means sports requisites admitted into the territory of the importing Party for use in sports contests, demonstrations or training in the territory of that Party;
goods intended for display or demonstration includes their component parts, ancillary apparatuses and accessories;
import licensing means an administrative procedure requiring the submission of an application or other documentation, other than that generally required for customs clearance purposes, to the relevant administrative body of the importing Party as a prior condition for importation into the territory of that Party;
Import Licensing Agreement means the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
measure includes any law, regulation, procedure, requirement or practice; performance requirement means a requirement that: (a) a given level or percentage of goods or services be exported;
(b) domestic goods or services of the Party granting a waiver of customs duties or an import licence be substituted for imported goods;
(c) a person benefiting from a waiver of customs duties or a requirement for an import licence purchase other goods or services in the territory of the Party that grants the waiver of customs duties or the import licence or accord a preference to domestically produced goods;
(d) a person benefiting from a waiver of customs duties or a requirement for an import licence produce goods or supply services in the territory of the Party that grants the waiver of customs duties or the import licence with a given level or percentage of domestic content; or
(e) relates in any way the volume or value of imports to the volume or value of exports or to the amount of foreign exchange inflows,
but does not include a requirement that an imported good be:
(f) subsequently exported;
(g) used as a material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported;
(h) substituted by an identical or similar good used as a material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported; or
(i) substituted by an identical or similar good that is subsequently exported; printed advertising materials means those goods classified in Chapter 49 of the Harmonized System, including brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, trade catalogues, yearbooks published by trade associations, tourist promotional materials, and posters, that are used to promote, publicise or advertise a good or service, are essentially intended to advertise a good or service and are supplied free of charge;
Safeguards Agreement means the Agreement on Safeguards, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement; and
SCM Agreement means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
2.2. Scope
Except as otherwise provided, this Chapter shall apply to trade in all goods between the Parties.
2.3. National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation
Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of the GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes. To this end, Article IIL of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and shall form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2.4. Customs Duties
1. Each Party shall eliminate all customs duties on originating goods of the other Party at the date of entry into force of this Agreement and such customs duties shall remain free after that date.
2. Each Parties shall classify goods traded between the Parties in conformity with the Harmonized System.
2.5. Waiver of Customs Duties
1. Neither Party shall adopt any new waiver of a customs duty, or expand with respect to an existing recipient or extend to any new recipient the application of an existing waiver of a customs duty, that is conditioned, explicitly or implicitly, on the fulfilment of a performance requirement.
2. Neither Party shall, explicitly or implicitly, condition the continuation of any existing waiver of a customs duty on the fulfilment of a performance requirement.
2.6. Customs Value
Each Party shall determine the customs value of goods traded between the Parties in accordance with Article VI of the GATT 1994 and the Customs Valuation Agreement.
2.7. Goods Re-entered after Repair and Alteration
1. Neither Party shall apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, that re-enters the Party's territory after that good has been temporarily exported from the Party's territory to the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration, regardless of whether that repair or alteration could have been performed in the territory of the Party from which the good was exported for repair or alteration or has increased the value of the good.
2. Neither Party shall apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, admitted temporarily from the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration.
3. For the purposes of this Article, repair or alteration does not include an operation or process that:
(a) destroys a good's essential characteristics or creates a new or commercially different good; or
(b) transforms an unfinished good into a finished good.
2.8. Duty-Free Entry of Commercial Samples of Negligible Value and Printed Advertising Material
Each Party shall grant duty-free entry to commercial samples of negligible value and printed advertising material imported from the territory of the other Party, regardless of their origin, but may require that:
(a) commercial samples of negligible value be imported solely for the solicitation of orders for goods or services provided from the territory of the other Party or a non-Party; or
(b) printed advertising material be imported in packets that each contain no more than one copy of the material and that neither that material nor those packets form part of a larger consignment.
2.9. Temporary Admission of Goods
1. Each Party shall grant duty-free temporary admission for the following goods, regardless of their origin:
(a) professional equipment, including equipment for the press or television, software, and broadcasting and cinematographic equipment, that is necessary for carrying out the business activity, trade or profession of a person who qualifies for temporary entry pursuant to the laws and regulations of the importing Party;
(b) goods intended for display or demonstration;
(c) commercial samples and advertising films and recordings; and
(d) goods admitted for sports purposes.
2. Each Party shall, at the request of the person concerned and for reasons its customs administration considers valid, extend the time limit for duty-free temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed.
3. Neither Party shall condition the duty-free temporary admission of the goods referred to in paragraph 1, other than to require that those goods:
(a) be used solely by or under the personal supervision of a national of the other Party in the exercise of the business activity, trade, profession or sport of that national of the other Party;
(b) not be sold or leased while in its territory;
(c) be accompanied by a security in an amount no greater than the charges that would otherwise be owed on entry or final importation, releasable on exportation of the goods;
(d) be capable of identification when imported and exported;
(e) be exported on the departure of the national referred to in subparagraph (a), or within any other period reasonably related to the purpose of the temporary admission that the Party may establish, or within one year, unless extended;
(f) be admitted in no greater quantity than is reasonable for their intended use; and
(g) be otherwise admissible into the Party's territory under its laws and regulations.
4. Each Party shall grant duty-free temporary admission for containers and pallets regardless of their origin, that are in use or to be used in the shipment of goods in international traffic.
(a) For the purposes of this paragraph, container means an article of transport equipment that is: fully or partially enclosed to constitute a compartment intended for containing goods; substantial and has an internal volume of one cubic metre or more; of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use; used in significant numbers in international traffic; specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by more than one mode of transport without intermediate reloading; and designed both for ready handling, particularly when being transferred from one mode of transport to another, and to be easy to fill and to empty, but does not include vehicles, accessories or spare parts of vehicles or packaging.