Title
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN NEW ZEALAND AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
Preamble
PREAMBLE
New Zealand,
and
The European Union, hereinafter referred to as "the Union",
hereinafter individually referred to as a "Party" and jointly referred to as the "Parties",
RECOGNISING their longstanding and strong partnership based on the common principles and values reflected in the Partnership Agreement on Relations and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and New Zealand, of the other part, done at Brussels on 5 October 2016, and their important economic, trade and investment relationship;
RESOLVED to strengthen their economic relations, and expand bilateral trade and investment;
RECOGNISING the importance of global cooperation to address issues of shared interest;
RECOGNISING the importance of transparency in international trade and investment to the benefit of all stakeholders;
SEEKING to establish a stable and predictable environment with clear and mutually advantageous rules governing trade and investment between the Parties, and to reduce or eliminate barriers thereto;
ACKNOWLEDGING that te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi is a foundational document of constitutional importance to New Zealand;
DESIRING to raise living standards, promote inclusive economic growth and stability, create new employment opportunities and improve the general welfare and, to this end, reaffirming their commitment to promote trade and investment liberalisation;
CONVINCED that this Agreement will create an expanded and secure market for goods and services, thus enhancing the competitiveness of their firms in global markets;
DETERMINED to strengthen their economic, trade, and investment relations in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, in its economic, social and environmental dimensions, and to promote trade and investment that are consistent with the aims for high levels of environmental and labour protection and with relevant internationally recognised standards and agreements to which they are a party;
DETERMINED to enhance consumer welfare through policies that ensure a high level of consumer protection, consumer choice and economic wellbeing;
AFFIRMING the Parties' right to regulate within their territories to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human, animal or plant life or health; social services; public education; safety; the environment, including climate change; public morals; social or consumer protection; animal welfare; privacy and data protection; the promotion and protection of cultural diversity; and, in the case of New Zealand, the promotion or protection of the rights, interests, duties and responsibilities of Maori;
COMMITTED to communicate with all relevant stakeholders from civil society, including the private sector, trade unions and other non-governmental organisations;
RECOGNISING the importance of promoting inclusive participation in international trade, and of addressing barriers and other challenges that exist for domestic stakeholders in accessing international trade and economic opportunities, including in digital trade;
DETERMINED to address the particular challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in contributing to the development of trade and foreign direct investment;
RECOGNISING the importance of international trade in enabling and advancing Maori wellbeing, and the challenges that exist for Maori, including wahine Maori, in accessing trade and investment opportunities derived from international trade, including the opportunities and benefits created by this Agreement;
SEEKING to advance gender equality and the economic empowerment of women by promoting the importance of gender inclusive policies and practices in economic activities, including international
trade, in an effort to eliminate all forms of gender-based discrimination; REAFFIRMING their commitment to the Charter of the United Nations signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and having regard to the principles articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948;
BUILDING upon their respective rights and obligations under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994, and other multilateral and bilateral instruments of cooperation to which both Parties are a party;
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Body
Chapter 1. INITIAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.1. Objectives of this Agreement
The objectives of this Agreement are to liberalise and facilitate trade and investment, as well as to promote a closer economic relationship between the Parties.
Article 1.2. General Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions apply:
(a) "agricultural product" means a product listed in Annex 1 to the Agreement on Agriculture;
(b) "CCMAA" means the Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand on cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in customs matters!, done at Brussels on 3 July 2017;
(c) "customs authority " means:
(i) with respect to New Zealand, the New Zealand Customs Service; and
(ii) with respect to the Union, the services of the European Commission responsible for customs matters, or, as appropriate, the customs administrations and any other authorities empowered in the Member States to apply and enforce customs legislation;
(d) "customs duty" means any duty or charge of any kind imposed on, or in connection with, the importation of a good, but does not include any:
(i) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article II:2 of GATT 1994;
(ii) anti-dumping or countervailing duty applied in conformity with GATT 1994, the Anti-dumping Agreement, and the SCM Agreement; and
(iii) fee or other charge imposed on, or in connection with, importation that is limited in amount to the approximate cost of the services rendered;
(e) "CPC" means the Provisional Central Product Classification (Statistical Papers Series M No. 77, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office of the United Nations, New York, 1991);
(f) "day" means a calendar day;
(g) "enterprise" means a juridical person or a branch or a representative office of a juridical person;
(h) "EU" or "Union" means the European Union;
(i) "existing" means, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement;
(j) "good of a Party" means a domestic product within the meaning of GATT 1994, and includes goods originating in that Party;
(k) "Harmonized System" or "HS" means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including all legal notes and amendments thereto developed by the WCO;
(l) "heading" means the first four digits in the tariff classification number under the Harmonized System;
(m) "ILO" means the International Labour Organization;
(n) "juridical person" means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise organised under the law of a Party, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship or association;
(o) "measure" means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, requirement or practice, or any other form (1);
(p) "measures of a Party" means any measures adopted or maintained by: (2)
(i) central, regional or local governments or authorities; and
(ii) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;
(q) "Member State" means a Member State of the Union;
(r) "natural person of a Party" means:
(i) for the Union, a national of one of the Member States according to its law (3); and
(ii) for New Zealand, a national of New Zealand according to its law (4);
(s) "OECD" means the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;
(t) "originating" means qualifying as originating under the rules of origin set out in Chapter 3 (Rules of origin and origin procedures);
(u) "originating good" or "good originating in a Party" means a good qualifying under the rules of origin set out in Chapter 3 (Rules of origin and origin procedures);
(v) "person" means a natural person or a juridical person;
(w) "preferential tariff treatment" means the rate of customs duty applicable to an originating good pursuant to the tariff elimination schedules in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules);
(x) "Sanitary Agreement" means the Agreement between the European Community and New Zealand on sanitary measures applicable to trade in live animals and animal products (1), done at Brussels on 17 December 1996;
(y) "sanitary or phytosanitary measure" or "SPS measure" means any measure as referred to in paragraph 1 of Annex A to the SPS Agreement;
(z) "SDR" means special drawing right;
(aa) "service supplier" means a person that supplies or seeks to supply a service;
(bb) "SME" means a small and medium-sized enterprise;
(cc) "territory" means with respect to each Party the area where this Agreement applies in accordance with Article 1.4 (Territorial application);
(dd) "TFEU" means the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
(ee) "the Paris Agreement" means the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1), done at Paris on 12 December 2015;
(ff) "the Partnership Agreement" means the Partnership Agreement on Relations and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and New Zealand, of the other part (2), done at Brussels on 5 October 2016;
(gg) "third country" means a country or territory outside the territorial scope of application of this Agreement;
(hh) "WTO" means the World Trade Organization; and
(ii) "WCO" means the World Customs Organization.
Article 1.3. WTO Agreements
For the purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Agreement on Agriculture" means the Agreement on Agriculture, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(b) "Agreement on Safeguards" means the Agreement on Safeguards, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(c) "Anti-dumping Agreement" means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(d) "Customs Valuation Agreement" means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(e) "DSU" means the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, contained in Annex 2 to the WTO Agreement;
(f) "GATS" means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, contained in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;
(g) "GATT 1994" means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(h) "GPA" means the Agreement on Government Procurement as amended by the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement, done at Geneva on 30 March 2012;
(i) "Import Licensing Agreement" means the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(j) "SCM Agreement" means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(k) "SPS Agreement" means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(l) "TBT Agreement" means the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(m) "TRIPS Agreement" means the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, contained in Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement; and
(n) "WTO Agreement" means the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994.
Article 1.4. Territorial Application
1. This Agreement applies:
(a) to the territories in which the Treaty on European Union and the TFEU are applied and under the conditions laid down in those Treaties; and
(b) to the territory of New Zealand and the exclusive economic zone, seabed and subsoil over which New Zealand exercises sovereign rights with respect to natural resources in accordance with international law, but does not include Tokelau.
2. As regards the provisions of this Agreement concerning the tariff treatment of goods, including rules of origin and origin procedures, this Agreement also applies to those areas of the customs territory of the Union within the meaning of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) that are not covered by point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. References to "territory" in this Agreement shall be understood in the sense referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, except as otherwise expressly provided.
Article 1.5. Relation to other International Agreements
1. Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, the existing international agreements between the European Community, the Union, or the Member States, of the one part, and New Zealand, of the other part, are not superseded or terminated by this Agreement.
2. This Agreement shall be an integral part of the overall bilateral relations as governed by the Partnership Agreement and shall form part of the common institutional framework.
3. The Parties affirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the WTO Agreement. For greater certainty, nothing in this Agreement requires a Party to act in a manner inconsistent with its obligations under the WTO Agreement.
4. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any international agreement other than the WTO Agreement to which both Parties are a party, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution.
5. Unless otherwise specified, where international agreements are referred to in, or incorporated into, this Agreement, in whole or in part, they shall be understood to include amendments thereto and their successor agreements entering into force for both Parties on or after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
6. If any matter arises regarding the implementation or application of this Agreement as a result of any amendments thereto or successor agreements as referred to in paragraph 5, the Parties may, on request of either Party, consult with each other with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution to such matter as necessary.
Article 1.6. Establishment of a Free Trade Area
The Parties hereby establish a free trade area, in conformity with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS.
Chapter 2. NATIONAL TREATMENT AND MARKET ACCESS FOR GOODS
Article 2.1. Objective
The Parties shall progressively and reciprocally liberalise trade in goods in accordance with this Agreement.
Article 2.2. Scope
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies to trade in goods of a Party.
Article 2.3. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) "A.T.A, carnet" means the document reproduced in accordance with the Annex to the Customs Convention on the A.T.A. Carnet for the temporary admission of goods, done in Brussels on 6 December 1961;
(b) "consular transaction" means the procedure of obtaining from a consul of the importing Party in the territory of the exporting Party, or in the territory of a third country, a consular invoice or a consular visa for a commercial invoice, certificate of origin, manifest, shipper's export declaration or any other customs documentation in connection with the importation of the good;
(c) "export licensing procedure" 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 or bodies as a prior condition for exportation from the territory of the exporting Party;
(d) "import licensing procedure" 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 or bodies as a prior condition for importation into the territory of the importing Party;
(e) "remanufactured good" means a good classified in HS Chapters 84 to 90 or heading 94.02 that:
(i) is entirely or partially comprised of parts obtained from used goods;
(ii) has similar performance and working conditions compared to equivalent goods, when new; and
(iii) is given the same warranty as that applicable to equivalent goods, when new;
(f) "repair" or "alteration" means any processing operation undertaken on a good, regardless of any increase in the value of the good, to remedy operating defects or material damage and entailing the re-establishment of the good to its original function or to ensure compliance with technical requirements for its use, without which the good could no longer be used in the normal way for the purposes for which it was intended; repair or alteration of a good includes restoration and maintenance, but does not include an operation or process that:
(i) destroys the essential characteristics of a good, or creates a new or commercially different good;
(i) transforms an unfinished good into a finished good; or
(ii) is used to substantially change the function of a good; and
(g) "staging category" means the timeframe for the elimination of customs duties ranging from zero to seven years, after which a good is free of customs duty, unless otherwise specified in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules).
Article 2.4. 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 GATT 1994, including its interpretative Notes and Supplementary Provisions. To that end, Article III of GATT 1994 and its interpretative Notes and Supplementary Provisions are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis
Article 2.5. Elimination of Customs Duties
1. Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, each Party shall reduce or eliminate its customs duties on goods originating in the other Party in accordance with Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules).
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the base rate of customs duties shall be the base rate specified for each good in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules).
3. If a Party reduces its applied most-favoured-nation customs duty rate, such duty rate shall apply to goods originating in the other Party for as long as it is lower than the customs duty rate determined pursuant to Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules).
4. Two years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, on the request of a Party, the Parties shall consult to consider accelerating the reduction or elimination of customs duties set out in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules). The Trade Committee may adopt a decision to amend Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules) to accelerate the tariff reduction or elimination.
5. A Party may at any time autonomously accelerate the elimination of customs duties set out in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules) on goods originating in the other Party. That Party shall inform the other Party as early as practicable before the new customs duty rate takes effect.
6. If a Party autonomously accelerates the elimination of customs duties in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Article, that Party may raise the customs duties concerned to the level set out in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules) for the respective year following any autonomous reduction.
Article 2.6. Standstill
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, a Party shall not increase any customs duty set as the base rate in Annex 2-A (Tariff elimination schedules) or adopt any new customs duty on a good originating in the other Party.
Article 2.7. Export Duties, Taxes or other Charges
1. A Party shall not adopt or maintain:
(a) any duty, tax or other charge of any kind imposed on, or in connection with, the exportation of a good to the other Party; or