New Zealand Welcomes the Upgrade to the bilateral…

原创 Clare Fearnle 中国投资参考

The New Zealand-China trade and investment relationship is complementary, and both sides benefit from it. China is New Zealand’s largest source of many consumer goods; New Zealand continues to be one of China’s largest sources of food imports. As New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said, New Zealand’s relationship with China is one of our most significant. Our bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership provides a foundation for the relationship.

⬆ An aerial view of Wellington

New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement Upgrade

New Zealand and China entered into a Free Trade Agreement fourteen years ago in 2008. It has been a success story for both countries, opening up significant economic opportunities and has been a catalyst for closer cooperation across a number of areas. The FTA already provides for all Chinese exports to enter New Zealand duty free, and almost all New Zealand’s goods exports to China will similarly enter China duty free by 2024.

The FTA has benefitted both New Zealand and China - our business people and our consumers. In the period since the FTA was concluded in 2008, two-way trade (exports and imports of goods and services) has more than quadrupled - from $9 billion to $38 billion.

However Trade rules and business practices have changed significantly over the past fourteen years. So, against this backdrop, New Zealand and China agreed in November 2016 to launch negotiations to upgrade our free trade agreement to modernise it, further reduce barriers impacting exports, and boost trade. Our negotiations to upgrade the FTA were an opportunity to ensure our bilateral FTA remained up to date – and that it delivers the best deal for trading firms in both countries, and ultimately for consumers.

The FTA Upgrade was signed virtually in January 2021 by New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Hon. Damien O’Connor, and China’s Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao. In February this year, the two Ministers announced that both countries had ratified the Upgrade Protocol, and that it would enter into force on 7 April 2022.

As Minister O’Connor said in February: “This Upgrade is a significant step for us and forms part of a body of work we’re doing to drive our economic recovery from COVID. New Zealand’s trade agenda has very good momentum, with our primary industry exports forecast to hit a record $50 billion this year alone.”

The upgrade both improves upon the existing commitments and adds new areas not previously covered by the 2008 Agreement. It includes improvements in relation to: technical barriers to trade; customs procedures, cooperation, trade facilitation and rules of origin provisions; services and goods market access; and new chapters on competition policy, e-commerce, environment and trade, and government procurement.

The entry into force of the FTA Upgrade comes at a time of considerable global economic disruption, due to COVID-19 related supply chain challenges. For New Zealand, new trade instruments such as the Upgrade are part of the Government’s Trade Recovery Strategy in response to the economic shocks of COVID-19. We believe the Upgrade will help build shore-up economic foundations as our two countries’ economies continue to work through the impacts of COVID-19.

Each of the upgraded and new chapters contains a number of trade commitments, as well as mechanisms to facilitate dialogue and cooperation on emerging issues of importance to both sides.

Improved services trade opportunities

In recent years, China has continued to open up its services economy, and make commitments in new services sectors not covered in our 2008 free trade agreement. The Upgrade reflects these commitments and goes further, creating new opportunities for service suppliers in each of our countries’ markets.

The improvements include new market access in a number of service sectors, including environmental, architectural, airport operation, and audio-visual services. The upgraded agreement also expands market access in existing service sector commitments in the free trade agreement, such as real estate services, translation and interpretation, education services, advertising services and more.

The upgrade also protects exporters’ future competitive positioning by allowing them to automatically benefit should either side make new commitments to other countries in specific service sectors. New Zealand and China have also agreed to negotiate to further simplify services commitments in the future through adopting a ‘negative list’ format.

In the field of education, the Upgrade helps position New Zealand competitively as a preferred destination for Chinese students wishing to study abroad, and it also provides opportunities for New Zealand companies to deliver educational services in China. The agreement also provides scope for more Chinese language teachers to work in New Zealand.

Improved goods market access

The FTA Upgrade provides further market access improvements into China for a number of New Zealand wood and paper products, with tariff elimination on 12 wood and paper products. Once fully implemented over up to 10 years, 99% of New Zealand’s $3 billion wood and paper trade to China will receive tariff-free access.

The upgraded agreement includes a number of improvements to facilitate the free flow of trade in goods, including updated customs procedures.

These improve transparency and reduce red tape in areas such as certificates of origin (introducing the option for ‘approved exporters’ to self-declare the origin of their goods) and goods in transit (through simplifying processes and highlighting alternatives to ‘certificates of non-manipulation’).

Further improvements include procedures for handling ’perishable goods’ like fresh seafood (introducing expedited six-hour clearance times, release of such goods outside normal business hours, and appropriate storage) as well as an extension of the scope of advance rulings in the existing free trade agreement.

The Upgrade will also make labelling easier for exporters, and enable discussions on updating the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Mutual Recognition Agreement (EEEMRA) in the existing FTA.

Separately, from 1 January 2024, remaining tariffs on New Zealand dairy products to China will be removed as a result of ongoing implementation of the existing FTA. Chinese consumers will continue to enjoy safe, high quality and nutritious dairy products manufactured in New Zealand, including by Chinese dairy companies, and sold at competitive prices.

Environment and Trade

Climate change and the environment are top priorities for both of our governments and an important strand of our bilateral cooperation. Therefore, the new Trade and Environment chapter which has been added to the upgraded FTA is an important part of the Upgrade. In addition to promoting cooperation, it includes commitments to ensure that environmental standards are not used for trade protectionist purposes. It builds upon and complements the existing Environmental Cooperation Agreement that was negotiated alongside the original FTA in 2008.

The Upgrade’s commitments on environment and trade will require each of our two countries to enforce effectively our environmental laws, and not to weaken them in order to encourage trade or investment. The review provisions also provide for New Zealand and China to review any impact that implementing the FTA may have on the environment, and report on any effects over time.

Cooperation under the Upgrade’s Trade and Environment chapter will also complement our broader cooperation on Climate Change, including under the New Zealand-China Climate Change Action Plan, agreed in 2017, and the joint statement by Prime Minster Ardern and Premier Li during Ardern’s 2019 visit to China committing to further strengthen our on-going climate change cooperation.

Regional and Multilateral Trade Cooperation

Another recent highlight in the New Zealand-China trading relationship was the signature in 2020 of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and its entry into force at the start of this year. The RCEP is anchored in a region which is the engine room of the global economy. The 15 RCEP economies – including the 10 ASEAN members – are home to almost a third of the world’s population, include 7 of our top 10 trading partners, receive over half New Zealand’s total exports and provide more than half our direct foreign investment.

RCEP deepens our trade and economic connections in the wider region, and is an important part of New Zealand’s Trade Recovery Strategy. The agreement is helping to ensure that its members are in the best possible position to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, and to seize new opportunities for exports and investment. RCEP is projected to add $186 billion to the world economy and increase New Zealand’s GDP by around $2 billion.

New Zealand exporters have, in the past, grappled with a complex web of different rules when they trade in the region. The RCEP agreement delivers a single set of rules with RCEP partners, making trade simpler and reducing compliance costs for exporters. RCEP addresses non-tariff barriers to trade in goods, reducing the time exporters spend waiting for goods to clear customs, and helps create opportunities for New Zealand exporters to get their products and services into regional value chains.

More broadly, New Zealand supports the widespread adoption of modern trade rules. This includes through regional megadeals such as RCEP, as well as the CPTPP. Ongoing discussions at the World Trade Organisation on issues like e-commerce and trade and environmental sustainability, and New Zealand’s innovative agreements on Digital Economy (DEPA) and on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), are other examples. China too is an active participant in those discussions at the WTO, and we also acknowledge the significance of China’s requests to accede to the CPTPP and DEPA.

In addition, as the host of APEC last year, New Zealand worked with China and other APEC members to focus on three key priorities - Economic and trade policies that strengthen recovery; Increasing inclusion and sustainability for recovery; and pursuing innovation and a digitally enabled recovery, by accelerating the APEC region’s work in these areas.

All of these efforts sit within the context of the New Zealand Government’s trade recovery strategy, which aims to put exporters at the centre of our economic recovery from COVID-19. Under this strategy, the Government has improved the support it gives to exporters by providing tools, support, and market intelligence to businesses, especially those that may not be able to be physically present in the market due to travel restrictions. Secondly, New Zealand is reinvigorating its support for international trade rules and organisations, which have become more important than ever. We are working, including with China, to reform and strengthen the WTO to ensure it remains effective and can contribute to solving contemporary global challenges.

Bilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation

Despite the pandemic, regular dialogue between New Zealand and Chinese ministers and officials has continued over the past two years. New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor, has spoken a number of times with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. 2021 saw the inaugural bilateral Financial Dialogue held in June, as well as dialogues on climate, trade, dairy, fisheries, agricultural cooperation, forestry and customs.

In addition, New Zealand agencies have continued to work closely with Chinese counterparts to support the flow of trade, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, including through formal bilateral talks that underpin the relationship, ranging from trade to agriculture, to science and education; through supporting New Zealand businesses to participate in the China International Import Expo; as well as cooperating in areas of shared interest, such as maintaining supply chains for essential goods.

Another positive area of cooperation relates to business regulations and the business environment. In the past three years, New Zealand officials have shared their experiences with regard to business regulation via presentations at events hosted by the State Council, National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and a range of provincial and municipal governments. New Zealand’s top international ranking in business environment indices reflects the importance placed by New Zealand on improving the business environment by streamlining services and regulations, especially for exporters and for small and medium enterprises. China’s fast improvement of its own business environment rankings has provided an ideal basis for our bilateral exchanges in areas such as business and property registrations, cross-border trade facilitation, construction permitting, and intellectual property protection.

Our two countries share an especially close relationship with regard to agriculture, which spans a number of areas, providing mutual benefits to both China and New Zealand. We remain committed to our very successful bilateral cooperation programmes and regular dialogues, including in Milk Quality and Safety; Dairy Farmer Training; Animal Disease Control and Prevention; Equine Health and Wellbeing Cooperation; and our Dairy Dialogue. The two sides have been able to deepen this relationship on agriculture in recent years through the establishment of new cooperation programmes. Our agricultural cooperation now spans the areas of dairy, forestry, fisheries and meat reflective of the breadth and depth of our relationship across the primary industries.

People-to-people links form the backbone of the New Zealand-China relationship, and the challenges to cross-border movement created by the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped this. New Zealand and China have long enjoyed extensive people exchanges, especially in education and tourism. Our strong bilateral cooperation in education has continued despite the pandemic. Recent examples include the 2nd annual New Zealand-China Early Childhood Education Symposium, the New Zealand-China Higher Vocational Education Summit, and the Joint Education Working Group. We continue to support bilateral research collaboration under the Tripartite Partnership Programme. We look forward to the time when regular face to face meetings will again be feasible.

New Zealand is in the process of reopening to the world. China will continue to be an important tourism market for New Zealand once two-way reopening is possible. We are committed to maintaining the relationship that was strengthened during the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism in 2019, including through future exchanges between our tourism officials.

Investment in New Zealand

New Zealand has a long history of embracing investment, both local and international, with an investor-friendly regulatory environment. We offer a highly competitive, growing economy, fuelled by people and businesses that display tremendous ingenuity, an abundance of natural resources, an agile regulatory framework, and privileged access to growing markets in Asia.

New Zealand continues to welcome high-quality and productive foreign investment, including from China. Chinese investment in areas that create new productive assets is a good example of the kind of investment that the New Zealand Government is eager to attract.

New Zealand's regulatory approach is robust enough to ensure that property rights (both intellectual and real) are protected, while also staying business friendly. New Zealand ranks at the top of the Transparency International global rankings. We have a reputation for honesty, ranking as one of the world’s least corrupt countries. New Zealand’s low net debt to gross domestic product (GDP), low sovereign risk and independently managed inflation rate are bedrocks of stability. This solid foundation instils investor confidence and has given New Zealand the ability to persevere through and bounce back from crises such as COVID-19.

As mentioned above, New Zealand’s world-leading business regulatory environment provides stability and protections for international investors. Compared to other parts of the world, starting a business is simple – it only requires one step and can be completed in half a day. There is a straightforward, business-friendly taxation system. Over the past three decades, New Zealand has advanced to having some of the most investor-friendly regulations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There are fewer layers of bureaucracy, both in the public and private sectors, with government departments easily accessible.

New Zealand was founded on exploration and adventure, and that curiosity is still evident today in our technological and entrepreneurial endeavours. New Zealanders have long been at the very forefront of technological advances and scientific breakthroughs. Being the first to split the atom and the first to climb to the summit of Mount Everest were only the beginning. Entrepreneurship is actively encouraged, with a range of R&D grants offered, and progressive immigration policies to attract entrepreneurs and investors who are committed to a sustainable and equitable future for New Zealand and the world.

In the past, China’s investments into New Zealand have been dominated by investments into primary and heavy industries, many by large state-owned enterprises. However, more recently, New Zealand has seen an increase in investment from private investors into high-quality consumer products, especially in the food and beverage, pet food, beauty, and healthcare sectors. This leverages New Zealand’s clean, green and safe brand image to help Chinese families upgrade the quality of their household consumption.

New Zealand wants to collaborate with individuals and businesses to deliver sustainable prosperity and growth. New Zealand’s overseas investment regulations are highly transparent and designed to ensure investment makes a positive contribution to the economy, environment and society. The New Zealand Government is seeking to attract high-quality investment into all regions of New Zealand. Some of the sectors where there are opportunities include wood processing, luxury tourism and hotels, value-added dairy products, pet food, and renewable energy.

Those looking to make high-quality and productive investments in New Zealand will find that support comes in many forms, including the provision of information and advice on the business and regulatory environment, market intelligence, investment opportunities, government programmes, site visits, and post-investment support.

Editor | Wang Xiaobo

Design | Demi

本文发表于《中国投资》2022年5月号

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原标题：《New Zealand Welcomes the Upgrade to the bilateral FTA》

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