Title

AGREEMENT BETWEEN NEW ZEALAND AND SINGAPORE ON A CLOSER ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

Preamble

New Zealand and Singapore ("the Parties"),

Conscious of their longstanding friendship and growing trade and investment relationship;

Conscious that open, transparent and competitive markets are the key drivers of economic efficiency, innovation, wealth creation and consumer welfare;

Recognising the importance of ongoing liberalisation of trade in goods and services at the multilateral level;

Aware of the growing importance of trade and investment for the economies of the Asia-Pacific region;

Confirming their rights, obligations and undertakings under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation, and other multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements and arrangements;

Confirming their commitment to achieving the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) goals of free and open trade and investment;

Recognising their commitment to securing trade liberalisation and an outward-looking approach to trade and investment;

Confirming their shared commitment to trade facilitation through removing or reducing technical, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to the movement of goods between New Zealand and Singapore;

Desiring to encourage greater international alignment of standards and regulations;

Mindful that liberalised trade in goods and services will assist the expansion of trade and investment flows, raise the standard of living, and create new employment opportunities in their respective territories;

Recognising their right to regulate, and to introduce new regulations on the supply of services and on investment in order to meet national policy objectives;

Conscious that a clearly established and secure framework of rules for trade in goods and services and for investment will provide confidence to their businesses to take investment and planning decisions, lead to a more effective use of resources, and increase capacity to contribute to economic development and prosperity through international exchanges and the promotion of closer links with other economies, especially in the APEC region;

Recognising the need for good corporate governance and a predictable, transparent and consistent business environment, so that businesses can conduct transactions freely, use resources efficiently and effectively and obtain rewards for innovation;

Have agreed as follows:

Body

Part 1. Objectives and General Definitions

Article 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 Organisation (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 accord fair and equitable treatment and protection to bilateral investments.

Article 2. General Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

a) "days" means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;

b) "goods" and "products" shall be understood to have the same meaning, unless the context otherwise requires.

Part 2. Competition

Article 3. Competition

1. The Parties recognise the strategic importance of creating and maintaining open and competitive markets which maximise total welfare. The Parties shall endeavour to implement the APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform with a view to protecting the competitive process rather than competitors and ensuring that the design of regulation recognises options that minimise distortions to competition.

2. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that under this Agreement impediments to trade and investment shall be reduced or removed through:

a) application of fair competition principles to economic activities, including private and public business activities;

b) application of competition and regulatory principles in a manner that does not discriminate between or among economic entities in like circumstances;

c) reduction of transaction and compliance costs for business; and

d) promotion of effective regulatory coordination across borders.

3. The Parties agree that they shall effectively protect the competitive process across their economies as follows:

a) they shall endeavour to consult and cooperate in the development of any new competition measures, whether these are specific or of general application;

b) where there are regulatory authorities responsible for competition they shall be adequately resourced to carry out their functions, including effective non-discriminatory enforcement;

c) where there are regulatory authorities responsible for competition, they shall endeavour to exchange information and explore the scope for further cooperation between them, with particular emphasis on transactions or conduct in one that has competition effects in the other's market, or in both Parties' markets.

Part 3. Trade In Goods

Article 4. Tariffs

Each Party shall eliminate all tariffs on goods originating in the other Party as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement. All tariffs on goods originating in either Party shall remain free after that date.

Article 5. Rules of Origin (1)

1. Goods exported from one Party to the other Party, or which entered the commerce of Australia only for the purpose of unloading and reloading, shall be treated as goods originating in the first Party if these goods are:

a) wholly produced or obtained in that Party; or

b) partly manufactured in that Party, subject to the following conditions:

(i) the last process of manufacture of the goods was performed in the territory of that Party; and either

(ii) the expenditure on one or more of the items set out below is not less than 40 per cent of the factory or works cost of such goods in their finished state:

A) materials, including inner containers, that originate in one or both Parties; or

B) costs referred to in paragraph 2 incurred in one or both Parties; or

C) partly on such materials, including inner containers, and partly on costs referred to in paragraph 2 incurred in one or both Parties; or

(iii) where the goods do not contain any other qualifying area content, the expenditure on quality control checking and testing procedures is not less than 50 per cent of the factory or works cost of the goods in their finished state.

2. The costs referred in paragraph 1(b)(ii)(B) and (C) shall be the sum of costs of materials (excluding customs, excise or other duties), in the form in which they are received at the factory or works, as well as labour and overheads. It shall not include any profit or marketing cost elements of the goods in their finished state. The process of packaging by itself shall not confer origin.

3. Where a Party considers that, in relation to particular goods partly manufactured in its territory, the application of paragraph 1(b)(ii) and (iii) is inappropriate, then that Party may request in writing consultation with the other Party to determine a suitable proportion of the factory or works cost or quality control checking and testing procedures cost different from that provided in paragraph 1(b)(ii) and (iii). The Parties shall consult promptly and may mutually determine for such goods a proportion of the factory or works cost or quality control checking and testing procedures cost different from that provided in paragraph 1(b)(ii) and (iii).

4. Both Customs administrations shall require certification from the manufacturer for the importation of a good into their respective territories for which an importer claims preferential treatment. For the importation of a good into Singapore, certification shall be required in a prescribed form.

5. Verification of importers' declarations:

a) where an importing Party has reasonable grounds to believe that any importer of a good from the exporting Party has failed to submit adequate, true and accurate particulars relating to the claim for tariff preferences under Part 3, it may either deny such preferential access, or request the exporting Party to verify the claim of tariff preference made by the importer;

b) where a request has been made to the exporting Party to verify a claim of tariff preference made by the importer, the exporting Party shall endeavour to take all necessary measures to confirm any such particulars declared in the clearance of those goods by the importer;

c) if such a verification is unsatisfactory or when the exporting Party is unable to provide the verification, the importing Party may, upon informing the exporting Party and with the knowledge of the importer concerned and with the consent of the exporter or supplier or manufacturer concerned, visit the exporter or supplier or manufacturer concerned for the purpose of verifying the preference claim. If no consent is given by the exporter or supplier or manufacturer concerned, the importing Party may disallow the tariff preference that may be available under this Part;

d) if the verification provided by the exporting Party or carried out by the importing Party with the exporter or supplier or manufacturer concerned:

(i) shows inadequate evidence of entitlement, the importing Party may disallow the tariff preference that may be available under this Part; or

(ii) substantiates the claim, the importing Party shall allow preferential entry.

6. During the biennial reviews of the operation of this Agreement provided for in Article 68, and earlier if so agreed, the Parties undertake to review these rules of origin, including the requirements necessary for goods to benefit from this Agreement, with a view to improving bilateral trade flows.

Article 6. Non-tariff Measures

1. Except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, neither Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the export or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party.

2. The Parties agree that procedures, fees and formalities imposed in connection with import and export shall be imposed in a manner consistent with their WTO obligations.

Article 7. Subsidies  (2)

1. The Parties agree to prohibit export subsidies (3) on all goods including agricultural products.

2. If either Party grants or maintains any subsidy, which operates to increase exports of any product from, or to reduce imports of any product into, its territory, it shall notify the other Party of the extent and nature of the subsidisation, of the estimated effect of the subsidisation on the quantity of the affected product or products imported into or exported from its territory and of the circumstances making the subsidisation necessary. In any case in which it is determined that serious prejudice to the interests of the other Party is caused or threatened by any subsidisation, the Party granting the subsidy shall, upon request, discuss with the other Party the possibility of limiting the subsidisation. This paragraph shall be applied in conjunction with the relevant applicable provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (WTO SCM Agreement).

3 The Parties reaffirm their commitment to abide by the provisions of the WTO SCM Agreement in respect of actionable subsidies (4).

4 Each Party shall seek to avoid causing adverse effects to the interests of the other Party in terms of Article 5 of the WTO SCM Agreement.

Article 8. Safeguard Measures

Neither Party shall take safeguard measures (5) against goods originating in the other Party from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

Article 9. Anti-dumping

1. Both Parties are Members of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement). For the purposes of trade between the Parties, the following changes are agreed in terms of implementation of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement in order to bring greater discipline to anti-dumping investigations and to minimise the opportunities to use anti-dumping in an arbitrary or protectionist manner:
a) the de minimis dumping margin of 2 per cent expressed as a percentage of the export price below which no anti-dumping duties can be imposed provided for in Article 5.8 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement is raised to 5 per cent;
b) the new de minimis margin of 5 per cent established in sub-paragraph (a) is applied not only in new cases but also in refund and review cases;
c) the maximum volume of dumped imports from the exporting Party which shall normally be regarded as negligible under Article 5.8 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement is increased from 3 per cent to 5 per cent of imports of the like product in the importing Party. Existing cumulation provisions under Article 5.8 continue to apply;
d) the time frame to be used for determining the volume of dumped imports under the preceding sub-paragraphs shall be representative of the imports of both dumped and non-dumped goods for a reasonable period. Such reasonable period shall normally be at least 12 months;
e) the period for review and/or termination of anti-dumping duties provided for in Article 11.3 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement is reduced from five years to three years.

2. Notification procedures shall be as follows:
a) immediately following the acceptance of a properly documented application from an industry in one Party for the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation in respect of goods from the other Party, the Party that has accepted the properly documented application shall immediately inform the other Party;
b) where a Party considers that in accordance with Article 5 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation, it shall give written notice to the other Party in accordance with Article 12.1 of that Agreement, and observe the requirements of Article 17.2 of that Agreement concerning consultations.

Part 4. Customs Procedures

Article 10. Scope

This Part shall apply to customs procedures required for clearance of goods traded between the two Parties, in accordance with their national laws, rules and regulations.

Article 11. General Provisions

1. The Parties recognise that the objectives of this Agreement may be promoted by the simplification of customs procedures for their bilateral trade.
2. Customs procedures of both Parties shall conform where possible with the standards and recommended practices of the World Customs Organisation.
3. The Customs administrations of both Parties shall actively work together to develop mutually beneficial solutions to minimise risks and to maximise opportunities for facilitating customs clearances. In this regard, the Customs administrations shall consider negotiating an arrangement on detailed areas of future co-operation within 1 year from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
4. The Customs administrations of both Parties shall periodically review customs procedures with a view to their further simplification.

Article 12. Paperless Trading

With a view to implementing the APEC Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce, in particular the Paperless Trading Initiative, the Customs administrations of both Parties shall have in place by the date of entry into force of this Agreement an electronic environment that supports electronic business applications between each Customs administration and its trading community.

Article 13. Risk Management

1. In order to facilitate the clearance of low risk transactions, the Parties agree that customs compliance activities should be focused on high risk goods and travellers. Accordingly, each Party undertakes that compliance activities at the time of entry shall not normally exceed 10 per cent of total customs transactions.
2. The Parties shall not use a threshold value of goods as a sole basis for the selection of goods for customs inspection.

Part 5. Services

Article 14. General Undertaking

The Parties undertake to expand trade in services on a mutually advantageous basis, under conditions of transparency and progressive liberalisation through successive reviews, with the aim of securing an overall balance of rights and obligations, while recognising the rights of both Parties to regulate, and to introduce new regulations, giving due respect to national policy objectives including where these reflect local circumstances.

Article 15. Scope

1. This Part shall apply to measures by Parties affecting trade in services.
2. New services, including new financial services, shall be considered for possible incorporation into this Agreement at future reviews held in accordance with Article 68, or at the request of either Party immediately. The supply of services which are not technically or technologically feasible when this Agreement comes into force shall, when they become feasible, also be considered for possible incorporation at future reviews or at the request of either Party immediately.
3. In financial services, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, a Party shall not be prevented from taking measures for prudential reasons, including for the protection of investors, depositors, policy holders or persons to whom a fiduciary duty is owed by a financial service supplier or to ensure the integrity and stability of the financial system. Where such measures do not conform with the provisions of this Agreement, they shall not be used as a means of avoiding that Party's commitments or obligations hereunder.
4. Government procurement of services shall be governed by Part 8.

Article 16. Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:
a) "measure" means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action or any other form;
b) "supply of a service" includes the production, distribution, marketing, sale and delivery of a service;
c) "measures by Parties affecting trade in services" include measures in respect of
(i) the purchase, payment or use of a service;
(ii) the access to and use of, in connection with the supply of a service, services which are required by those Parties to be offered to the public generally;
(iii) the presence, including commercial presence, of persons of a Party for the supply of a service in the territory of the other Party;
d) "commercial presence" means any type of business or professional establishment, including through
(i) the constitution, acquisition or maintenance of a legal person; or
(ii) the creation or maintenance of a branch or a representative office; within the territory of a Party for the purpose of supplying a service;
e) "sector" of a service means,
(i) with reference to a specific commitment, one or more, or all, subsectors of that service, as specified in a Party's schedule of commitments;
(ii) otherwise, the whole of that service sector, including all of its subsectors;
f) "service supplier" means any person that supplies a service (6);
g) "service consumer" means any person that receives or uses a service;
h) "service of the other Party" means a service which is supplied Where the service is not supplied directly by a legal person but through other forms of commercial presence such as a branch or a representative office, the service supplier (i.e. the legal person) shall, nonetheless, through such presence be accorded the treatment provided for service suppliers under the Agreement. Such treatment shall be extended to the presence through which the service is supplied and need not be extended to any other parts of the supplier located outside the territory where the service is supplied.
(i) from or in the territory of the other Party, or in the case of maritime transport, by a vessel registered under the laws of the other Party, or by a person of that other Party which supplies the service through the operation of a vessel and/or its use in whole or in part; or (ii) in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence or through the presence of natural persons, by a service supplier of the other Party;
i) "person" means either a natural person or a legal person;
j) "natural person of the other Party" means a natural person who resides in the territory of that other Party or elsewhere and who under the law of that other Party:
(i) is a national of that other Party; or
(ii) has the right of permanent residence in that other Party, in the case of a Party which accords substantially the same treatment to its permanent residents as it does to its nationals in respect of measures affecting trade in services, provided that that Party is not obligated to accord to such permanent residents treatment more favourable than would be accorded by the other Party to such permanent residents;
k) "legal person" means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise organized under applicable law, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship or association;
l) "monopoly supplier of a service" means any person, public or private, which in the relevant market of the territory of a Party is authorized or established formally or in effect by that Party as the sole supplier of that service;
m) a "financial service supplier" means any natural or legal person of a Party wishing to supply or supplying financial services but the term "financial service supplier" does not include a public entity. "Public entity" means:
(i) a government, central bank or a monetary authority of a Party or an entity owned or controlled by a Party that is principally engaged in carrying out governmental functions or activities for governmental purposes, not including an entity principally engaged in supplying financial services on commercial terms; or
(ii) a private entity, performing functions normally performed by a central bank or monetary authority when exercising those functions;
n) "trade in services" means the supply of a service:
(i) from the territory of one Party into the territory of the other Party ("cross border mode"); (ii) in the territory of one Party to the service consumer of the other Party ("consumption abroad mode");
(iii) by a service supplier of one Party, through commercial presence in the territory of the other Party ("commercial presence mode");
(iv) by a service supplier of one Party, through presence of natural persons of that Party in the territory of the other Party ("presence of natural persons mode");
o) "measures by Parties" means measures taken by:
(i) central, regional or local governments and authorities; and
(ii) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;
p) "services" includes any service in any sector except services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority;
q) "a service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority" means any service which is supplied neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with one or more services suppliers;
r) in the case of financial services, "services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority" means the following:
(i) activities conducted by a central bank or monetary authority or by any other public entity in pursuit of monetary or exchange rate policies;
(ii) activities forming part of a statutory system of social security or public retirement plans; and (iii) other activities conducted by a public entity for the account or with the guarantee or using the financial resources of the Government. If a Party allows any of the activities referred to in sub-paragraphs (ii) or (iii) of this paragraph to be conducted by its financial service suppliers in competition with a public entity or a financial service supplier, "services" shall include such activities;
s) "new financial services" means a service of a financial nature, including services related to existing and new products or the manner in which a product is delivered, that is not supplied by any financial service supplier in the territory of one Party but is supplied in the territory of the other Party.

Article 17. Market Access

1. With respect to market access through the modes of supply identified in Article 16(n), each Party shall accord services and service suppliers of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that provided for under the terms, limitations and conditions agreed and specified in its schedule of commitments (7).
2. In sectors where market-access commitments are undertaken, the measures which a Party shall not maintain or adopt either on the basis of a regional sub-division or on the basis of its entire territory, unless otherwise specified in its schedule of commitments, are defined as:
a) limitations on the number of service suppliers whether in the form of numerical quotas, monopolies, exclusive service suppliers or the requirements of an economic needs test;
b) limitations on the total value of service transactions or assets in the form of numerical quotas or the requirement of an economic needs test;
c) limitations on the total number of service operations or on the total quantity of service output expressed in terms of designated numerical units in the form of quotas or the requirement of an economic needs test (8);
d) limitations on the total number of natural persons that may be employed in a particular service sector or that a service supplier may employ and who are necessary for, and directly related to, the supply of a specific service in the form of numerical quotas or the requirement of an economic needs test;
e) measures which restrict or require specific types of legal entity or joint venture through which a service supplier may supply a service; and
f) limitations on the participation of foreign capital in terms of maximum percentage limit on foreign shareholding or the total value of individual or aggregate foreign investment.

Article 18. National Treatment

1. In the sectors in its schedule of commitments, and subject to any conditions and qualifications set out therein, each Party shall accord to services and service suppliers of the other Party, in respect of all measures affecting the supply of services, treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own like services and service suppliers.
2. A Party may meet the requirement in paragraph 1 by according to services and service suppliers of the other Party either formally identical treatment or formally different treatment to that it accords to its own like services and service suppliers.
3. Formally identical or formally different treatment shall be considered to be less favourable if it modifies the conditions of competition in favour of services or service suppliers of one Party compared to the like service or service suppliers of the other Party.
4. Specific commitments assumed under this Article shall not be construed to require either Party to compensate for any inherent competitive disadvantages which result from the foreign character of the relevant services or service suppliers.

Article 19. Additional Commitments

The Parties may negotiate commitments with respect to measures affecting trade in services not subject to scheduling under Articles 17 and 18, including those regarding qualifications, standards or licensing matters. Such commitments shall be entered in a Party's schedule of commitments.

Article 20. Specific Commitments

1. Each Party has set out an initial schedule of the specific commitments it undertakes in accordance with the objective of liberalisation of trade in most services by the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. Each Party's schedule of commitments shall clearly specify:
a) the sectors/subsectors in which commitments are undertaken;
b) any terms, limitations and conditions on market access;
c) any conditions and qualifications on national treatment; and d) any additional commitments.
3. The schedules of commitments shall be annexed to this Agreement as Annex 2 and shall form an integral part thereof.
4. As part of the reviews of this Agreement provided for in Article 68, the Parties undertake to review their schedules of commitments at least every two years, but earlier if so agreed, and progressively to expand these initial commitments as well as expand market access and/or national treatment between them in accordance with the APEC objective of free and open trade in services by 2010. The first review shall include telecommunications, postal services, credit reporting services and disaster insurance.
5. Trade in a particular number of services sectors and measures affecting trade in services may not be fully liberalised by 1 January 2010 notwithstanding paragraph 4. When it appears this shall be the case, the Parties agree to meet no later than 1 January 2008 to identify a list of such services sectors and measures. This list shall be set out in an exchange of letters between the Parties. The Parties shall consult on a mutually acceptable solution for these sectors and measures and such consultations shall continue for as long as it takes to achieve that solution. The solution may include agreement on a longer timeframe for liberalisation. This provision shall continue to apply after 1 January 2010.
6. The reviews referred to in paragraph 4 shall also examine limitations on market access and/or national treatment entered in the Parties' schedules of commitments in accordance with the objective identified in that paragraph.
7. A Party may, upon reasonable notice of at least three months, propose a modification of a commitment in its schedule of commitments by written notification to the other Party. In proposing such a modification, the Party concerned shall also propose a means by which the overall level of commitments undertaken by that Party under the Agreement shall be maintained. On receiving such written notification, the other Party may request consultations regarding the proposed modification aimed at ensuring an overall balance of benefits under the Agreement is maintained, and if such consultations fail to achieve a satisfactory solution, the matter shall be dealt with in accordance with Part 10.

Article 21. Domestic Regulation

1. In sectors where specific commitments are undertaken, each Party shall ensure that all measures of general application affecting trade in services are administered in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner.
2. The Parties shall jointly review the results of the negotiations on disciplines for certain regulations, including qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and licensing requirements, pursuant to Article VI.4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) with a view to their incorporation into this Agreement. The Parties note that such disciplines aim to ensure that such requirements are, inter alia:
a) based on objective and transparent criteria, such as competence and the ability to supply the service;
b) not more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service;
c) in the case of licensing procedures, not in themselves a restriction on the supply of the service.
3. Until the incorporation of disciplines developed pursuant to paragraph 2, in sectors where a Party has undertaken specific commitments, and subject to any terms, limitations, conditions or qualifications set out therein, a Party shall not apply licensing and qualification requirements and technical standards that nullify or impair such specific commitments in a manner which:
a) does not comply with the criteria outlined in paragraphs 2(a), (b) or (c); and
b) could not reasonably have been expected of that Party at the time the specific commitments in those sectors were made.
4. Whenever a domestic regulation is prepared, adopted and applied in accordance with international standards applied by both Parties, it shall be rebuttably presumed to comply with the provisions of this Article.

Article 22. Professional Qualifications and Registration

1. With a view to ensuring that measures relating to professional (9) qualification and registration requirements and procedures do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services between them, the Parties agree to have identified by the date of entry into force of this Agreement priority areas to address with respect to the recognition of professional qualifications or registration. In identifying initial priority areas, the Parties agree to focus on sectors where specific commitments have been undertaken, and subject to the terms, limitations, conditions, or qualifications set out therein. Thereafter the Parties shall endeavour to consider sectors where no specific commitments have been undertaken.
2. The Parties agree to facilitate the establishment of dialogue between experts in these priority areas with a view to the achievement of early outcomes on recognition of professional qualifications or registration in these areas.
3. Such recognition may be achieved through recognition of regulatory outcomes, recognition of professional qualifications awarded by one Party as a means of complying with the regulatory requirements of the other Party (whether accorded unilaterally or by mutual arrangement) or by other recognition arrangements which might be agreed between the Parties. 4 The priority areas for further work on professional recognition requirements and the recognition outcomes achieved on initial priorities shall be reviewed as part of the reviews of this Agreement provided for in Article 68 and shall take place at least every two years.

Article 23. Subsidies

1. Except as provided for in this Article, subsidies related to trade in services shall not be covered under this Part.
2. The Parties shall review the issue of disciplines on subsidies related to trade in services in the context of the reviews of this Agreement provided for in Article 68. They shall pay particular attention to any disciplines agreed under Article XV of GATS with a view to their incorporation into this Agreement.
3. The Parties shall consult on appropriate steps in regard to subsidies related to trade in services where any subsidies issues arise in bilateral services trade under this Agreement.

Article 24. Monopolies

In sectors where specific commitments have been made, each Party shall ensure that its commitments relating to market access and national treatment pursuant to Articles 17 and 18 are not adversely affected by the actions of a monopoly supplier of a service in its territory.

Article 25. Extension of Benefits

A service supplier of a non-Party that is a legal person constituted under the laws of a Party shall be entitled to treatment granted under this Part provided that it engages in substantive business operations in the territory of one or both Parties.

Part 6. Investment

Article 26. Scope and Coverage

1. This Part shall apply to all investments in goods and services.
2. Articles 28, 29 and 30 shall not apply to any measures affecting investments adopted or maintained pursuant to Part 5 to the extent that they relate to the supply of any specific service through commercial presence as defined in Article 16(n), whether or not they are covered by Annex 2.

Article 27. Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:
1. "Investments" include but are not limited to the following:
a) movable and immovable property and other property rights such as mortgages, liens or pledges;
b) shares, stocks, debentures, bank bills, deposits, securities, and similar interests in companies or enterprises (whether incorporated or unincorporated);
c) claims to money or to any performance under contract having an economic value;
d) intellectual property rights and goodwill;
e) business concessions conferred by law or under contract, including any concession to search for, cultivate, extract or exploit natural resources;
f) derivative instruments.
2. "Proceeds from investment" include but are not limited to the following:
a) profits, capital gains, dividends, royalties, interest and other current income accruing from an investment;
b) the proceeds from the liquidation of an investment;
c) loan payments in connection with an investment;
d) royalties, license fees, payments in respect of technical assistance, service and management fees;
e) payments in connection with contracts involving the presence of an investor's property in the territory of the other Party and payment in connection with contracts where remuneration depends substantially on the production, revenues or profits of an enterprise; f) earnings of investors of a Party who work in connection with an investment in the territory of the other Party.
3. "Investor" means:
a) a natural person who resides in the territory of the other Party or elsewhere and who under the law of that other Party:
(i) is a national of that other Party; or
(ii) has the right of permanent residence in that other Party, in the case of a Party which accords substantially the same treatment to its permanent residents as it does to its nationals in respect of measures affecting investments, provided that that Party is not obligated to accord to such permanent residents more favourable treatment than would be accorded by the other Party to such permanent residents; or
b) any company, firm, association or body, with or without legal personality, whether or not incorporated, established or registered under the applicable laws in force in a Party; making or having made an investment in the other Party's territory.

Article 28. Most Favoured Nation Status

Except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, each Party shall accord to investors and investments of the other Party, in relation to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, liquidation, sale, transfer (or other disposition), protection and expropriation (including any compensation) of investments, treatment that is no less favourable than that it accords in like situations to investors and investments from any other State or separate customs territory which is not party to this Agreement.

Article 29. National Treatment

Except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, each Party shall accord to investors and investments of the other Party in relation to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, liquidation, sale, transfer (or other disposition), protection and expropriation (including any compensation) of investments, treatment that is no less favourable than that it accords in like situations to its own investors and investments.

Article 30. Standard of Treatment

Each Party shall accord to investors and investments of the other Party the better of the treatment required by Articles 28 and 29.

Article 31. Repatriation and Convertibility

1. Each Party shall allow investors of the other Party, on a non-discriminatory basis, to transfer and repatriate freely and without undue delay their investments and proceeds from investment. Each Party shall permit transfers to be made in a freely usable currency at the market rate of exchange prevailing on the date of transfer with respect to spot transactions in the currency to be transferred.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a Party may prevent a transfer through the equitable, non-discriminatory and good faith application of its laws relating to:
a) bankruptcy, insolvency or the protection of the rights of creditors;
b) issuing, trading or dealing in securities;
c) criminal or penal offences, and the recovery of proceeds of crime;
d) reports of transfers of currency or other monetary instruments; or
e) ensuring the satisfaction of judgments in adjudicatory proceedings.

Article 32. Limitations

1 Articles 28, 29 and 30 shall not apply to:
a) any limitation that is listed by a Party in Annex 3;
b) an amendment to a limitation covered by paragraph (a) to the extent that the amendment does not decrease the conformity of the limitation with Articles 28, 29 and 30; c) any new limitation adopted by a Party, and incorporated into Annex 3, which does not affect the overall level of commitments of that Party under this Part. to the extent that such limitations are inconsistent with those Articles.
2. As part of the reviews of this Agreement provided for in Article 68, the Parties undertake to review at least every two years the status of the limitations set out in Annex 3 with a view to reducing the limitations or removing them.
3. A Party may, at any time, either upon the request of the other Party or unilaterally, remove in whole or in part limitations set out in Annex 3 by written notification to the other Party.
4. A Party may, at any time, incorporate a new limitation into Annex 3 in accordance with paragraph 1(c) of this Article by written notification to the other Party. On receiving such written notification, the other Party may request consultations regarding the limitation. On receiving the request for consultations, the Party incorporating the new limitation shall enter into consultations with the other Party.

Article 33. Subrogation

1. In the event that either Party (or any agency, institution, statutory body or corporation designated by it) as a result of an indemnity it has given in respect of an investment or any part thereof makes payment to its own investors in respect of any of their claims under this Part, the other Party acknowledges that the former Party (or any agency, institution, statutory body or corporation designated by it) is entitled by virtue of subrogation to exercise the rights and assert the claims of its own investors. The subrogated rights or claims shall not be greater than the original rights or claims of such investors.
2. Any payment made by one Party (or any agency, institution, statutory body or corporation designated by it) to its investors shall not affect the right of such investors to make their claims against the other Party in accordance with Article 34, in cases where the former Party elects not to exercise its subrogated rights or claims.

Article 34. Investment Disputes

1. Any legal dispute between an investor of one Party and the other Party arising directly out of an investment by that investor in the territory of that other Party shall, as far as possible, be settled amicably through negotiations between the investor and that other Party.
2. If the dispute cannot be resolved as provided for in paragraph 1 within 6 months from the date of request for negotiations then, unless the parties to the dispute agree otherwise, it shall, upon the request of either such party, be submitted to conciliation or arbitration by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes established by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between the States and Nationals of Other States done at Washington on 18 March, 1965, provided that the other party does not withhold its consent under Article 25 of that Convention.

Part 7. Technical, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Regulations and Standards

Article 35. Scope

1. Consistent with the objectives set out in Article 1 and the provisions of this Part, and reflecting the level of confidence that each Party has in the other Party's regulatory outcomes and conformity assessment systems, each Party shall implement the principles of mutual recognition, unilateral recognition or harmonisation that provide the most appropriate or cost-efficient approach to the removal or reduction of technical, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers (hereinafter referred to as "regulatory barriers") to the movement of goods between New Zealand and Singapore for products and/or assessments of manufacturers of products specified in the Product Chapters of Annex 4 on Technical, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Regulations and Standards.
2. "Mutual recognition" means that each Party, on the basis that it is accorded reciprocal treatment by the other Party:
a) accepts the mandatory requirements of the other Party as producing outcomes equivalent to those produced by its own corresponding mandatory requirements i.e. mutual recognition of equivalence of mandatory requirements;
b) accepts the results of conformity assessment activities of the other Party to demonstrate conformity of products and/or manufacturers with its mandatory requirements when the conformity assessment activities are undertaken by conformity assessment bodies designated by the other Party in accordance with this Part i.e. mutual recognition of conformity assessment; or
c) accepts the standards of the other Party as equivalent to its own corresponding standards i.e. mutual recognition of equivalence of standards.
3. "Unilateral recognition" means that a Party on its own accord without requiring reciprocal treatment from the other Party:
a) accepts the mandatory requirements of the other Party as producing outcomes equivalent to those produced by its own corresponding mandatory requirements;
b) accepts the conformity assessment results of the other Party to demonstrate conformity of products and/or manufacturers with its mandatory requirements; or
c) accepts the standards of the other Party as equivalent to its own corresponding standards. The Product Chapters may provide for unilateral recognition of products and/or assessments of manufacturers of products which are in compliance with the exporting Party's mandatory requirements and are intended by that Party for export only and not for domestic supply or use. "Harmonisation" means that each Party harmonises its standards and technical regulations with relevant international standards where they exist.

Article 36. Definitions

All general terms concerning standards and conformity assessment used in this Part shall have the meaning given in the definitions contained in the International Organisation for Standardisation/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Guide 2:1996 "General terms and their definitions concerning standardisation and related activities" published by the ISO and IEC, unless the context otherwise requires. In addition, for the purpose of this Part and Annex 4, unless a more specific meaning is given in a Product Chapter:
a) "accept" means the use of the results of conformity assessment activities as a basis for regulatory actions such as approvals, licences, registrations and post-market assessments of conformity;
b) "acceptance" has an equivalent meaning to "accept";
c) "certification body" means a body, including product or quality systems certification bodies, that may be designated by one Party in accordance with this Part to conduct certification on compliance with the other Party's standards and/or specifications to meet relevant mandatory requirements;
d) "conformity assessment" means any activity concerned with determining directly or indirectly that standards and/or specifications to meet relevant mandatory requirements are fulfilled;
e) "conformity assessment body" means a body that conducts conformity assessment activities and includes test facilities and certification bodies;
f) "designating authority" means a body as specified under this Part, established in the territory of a Party with the necessary authority to designate, monitor, suspend or withdraw designation of conformity assessment bodies within its jurisdiction, unless the Parties agree otherwise to designate conformity assessment bodies within a non-Party;
g) "designation" means the authorisation by a designating authority of a conformity assessment body to undertake specified conformity assessment activities;
h) "designate" has an equivalent meaning to "designation";
i) "mandatory requirements" means the legislative, regulatory and administrative requirements of either Party that are the subject of this Part;
j) "regulatory authority" means an entity that exercises a legal right to control the import, use or supply of products within a Party's territory and may take enforcement action to ensure that products marketed within its territory comply with that Party's mandatory requirements including assessments of manufacturers of products;
k) "Product Chapter" is a chapter of Annex 4 to this Agreement, which specifies the implementation arrangements in respect of a specific product sector;
l) "specifications" means detailed descriptions of requirements other than specified standards;
m) "stipulated requirements" means the criteria set out in a Product Chapter for the designation of conformity assessment bodies;
n) "supply" includes all forms of supply, whether or not for a consideration, and includes but is not limited to:
(i) any transfer of the whole property in any product;
(ii) any transfer of possession of any product, whether or not under an agreement for sale; (iii) any transfer by way of a gift of a product made in the course or furtherance of any business;
(iv) any transfer by way of a gift to an actual or potential customer of any business of an industrial or commercial sample in a form not ordinarily available for supply to the public; (v) any transfer by way of barter and exchange;
(vi) any transfer by way of distribution, wholesale, retail, lease, hire or hire-purchase;
o) "test facility" means a facility, including independent laboratories, manufacturers' own test facilities or government testing bodies, that may be designated by one Party's designating authority in accordance with this Part to undertake tests on compliance with the other Party's standards and/or specifications to meet mandatory requirements.

Article 37. Establishment of a Work Programme

1. In addition to the Product Chapter on electrical and electronic equipment, the Parties shall: a) identify and agree on other priority sectors within a period of 6 months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement with a view to removing or reducing regulatory barriers to the movement of goods between the Parties;
b) decide which of the principles relating to mutual recognition, unilateral recognition and harmonisation provides the most cost-efficient approach to the removal or reduction of regulatory barriers in the agreed priority sectors; and
c) establish a work programme to implement the agreed principle.
2. The Parties shall adopt additional Product Chapters following the conclusion of the above process.