RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/TPR/G/20
20September 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-3747)
Original: English
TRADE POLICY REVIEW
New Zealand
Report bytheGovernment
Inpursuance oftheAgreement establishing theTrade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3ofthe
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization), thepolicy statement submitted
bytheGovernment ofNewZealand isattached.
Note: Thisreport issubject torestricted circulation andpress embargo untiltheendofthemeeting
oftheTrade Policy Review Body onNewZealand.New Zealand WT/TPR/G/20
Page iii
CONTENTS
Page
I. Introduction 1
II. Trade Policy Strategy 1
(i) Domestic policy: theunilateral track 1
(ii) Thebilateral track 2
(iii) Theregional track 2
(iv) TheWTO: themultilateral track 2
III. TheEconomic Reform Programme 2
(i) Public sector restructuring 3
(ii) Monetary andfiscal policy 3
(iii) Financial liberalization 4
(iv) Taxation 4
(v) Infrastructure deregulation 4
(vi) Labour market deregulation 5
(vii) Investment liberalization 5
(viii) Trade liberalization 5
(ix) Results 6
(x) Future directions 6
IV. Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations 7
V. AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation 7
VI. World Trade Organization 9
VII. Conclusion 10New Zealand WT/TPR/G/20
Page 1
I. Introduction
1. NewZealand welcomes theopportunity toparticipate again inthetradepolicy review process
astheeconomy being reviewed. TheWTO sTrade Policy Review Mechanism, particularly through
thedetailed research oftheSecretariat, provides valuable transparency intheevolution ofMember
economies trade régimes andtheirprogress towards theWTO idealoffreeandopentrade ingoods
andservices. Council discussion intheReview Body meeting alsoprovides auseful opportunity for
peerreview beyond theimmediate framework ofmutual rights andobligations which flowfromWTO
provisions andcommitments.
2. Trade policy inNewZealand ispartofabroader external policy strategy tofoster openness
ofthedomestic economy andstronger international economic linkages. Theunderlying policy objective
istopromote NewZealand seconomic growth through trade andthusimprove theliving standards
ofNewZealanders onasustainable basis. Successive NewZealand Governments sincetheearly1980s
havefollowed thisstrategy.
3. From being oneofthemostinsulated andrestrictive among OECD economies, NewZealand
hasbecome oneofthemost open andcompetitive. Thereform process overthepast13years has
beendescribed asthemost comprehensive economic reform programme undertaken byanyOECD
country inrecent decades. While thebroad scope ofthereforms isbriefly outlined below, thisreport
willconcentrate ontheperiod sincethelastmultilateral review ofNewZealand stradepolicy in1990.
InthattimeNewZealand hascontinued tomake considerable progress towards thegoaloffreeand
opentrade andinvestment which itadvocates foralleconomies atthemultilateral level.
4. Thisreport begins bybriefly outlining NewZealand stradepolicy strategy. Elements ofeach
aspect ofthisstrategy arethenexamined inmore detail andtheirfuture evolution isconsidered.
II. Trade Policy Strategy
5. With apopulation oflittle more than 3.5million, international trade isessential to
NewZealand sprosperity. Exports ofgoods andservices comprise around 30percent of
NewZealand sGDP. Theoverall goalofNewZealand strade policy isstraightforward: toachieve
sustainable economic growth through trade. Thisobjective, directed atcomplete multilateral freetrade,
issimultaneously pursued through fourinterrelated policy tracks.
(i) Domestic policy: theunilateral track
6. Openandoutward-lookingdomesticeconomicpoliciesarethefoundationstoneofNewZealands
trade strategy:
- reduction orelimination ofindustry assistance, protection andregulation overrecent
yearshasbeenfundamentaltoenhancingtheefficiencyandinternationalcompetitiveness
ofNewZealand seconomy;
- domestic reforms areconsistent with thedirection ofmultilateral reform but
NewZealand hasnotwaited forinternational reform tomake decisions which arein
itsownbestinterest.WT/TPR/G/20 Trade Policy Review
Page 2
(ii) Thebilateral track
7. TheGovernment works closely withindividual trading partners tosolve problems andseek
more opentrade andinvestment relationships:
- theAustralia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER)
constitutes oneofthemostfarreaching bilateral freetrade arrangements intheworld
covering asingle market ofaround 20million people.
(iii) Theregional track
8. Regionaleconomicgroupings(includingNAFTA,EU,AFTAandMERCOSUR)haveagrowing
influence onNewZealand strade policy:
- withintheoverallgoalofcompletemultilateralfreetradeNewZealandlookstopromote
andbuild liberalized trade arrangements intheAsia-Pacific region;
- APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) provides themostcomprehensive forum
fortrade liberalization intheregion;
- theGovernment hasstated alsothatitwould beopentoexplore WTO-compatible sub-
regional free-trade options withanyofNewZealand ssignificant trading partners
onthebasisofprinciples which reflect NewZealand sinterests asanoutward-looking
economy intheAsia-Pacific region;
- sucharrangementsmustbeoutward-looking,open-ended,trade-enhancing,Asia-Pacific
friendly, comprehensive insectoral coverage andnotcompromising ofNewZealand s
unilateral reforms.
(iv) TheWTO: Themultilateral track
9. Forasmall country withglobal trading interests astrong multilateral trading system isvital:
- complete multilateral freetrade isthe“firstbest”outcome forNewZealand; the
successful outcome totheUruguay Round marked afurther solidstepinthatdirection;
- beyond securing fullandeffective implementation ofUruguay Round commitments,
NewZealand advocates further work intheWTO toremove impediments tofreeand
opentrade andinvestment atthemultilateral level.
10. Inthefollowing material, aspects ofeachelement ofthisstrategy areexamined andtheirfuture
evolution isconsidered.
III. TheEconomic Reform Programme
11. Asnoted above, trade policy isonlyonepartofabroader external strategy concerned with
investment, transport andother external linkages. These factors areinturnlinked totheGovernment s
broader economic policies, theaimofwhich issustainable economic growth andprosperity forall
NewZealanders.New Zealand WT/TPR/G/20
Page 3
12. Theeconomicreformprogrammehasinvolvedthecreationofmoreopenandcompetitiveproduct
andfactor markets inNewZealand andalsoincreasing integration ofthese markets withregional and
international markets. There isthusagrowing convergence between NewZealand sdomestic economic
policy andthevarious elements ofitsexternal economic policy. Inconsidering itsinternational linkages
NewZealand hasapolicy framework based ontheinternational contestability ofmarkets; aframework
which focuses onopenandcompetitive product andfactor markets through consideration oftrade and
investment policies attheborder andrelated “behind theborder ”regulatory issues. Among themain
areas ofreform were:
(i) Public sector restructuring
13. Asgovernment expenditure accounts forover 30percentofGDP, inefficiencies inthe
government sector impose significant costs onthebusiness sector. Reforms suchascorporatization,
privatization andintroduction ofnewfinancial management systems haveledtomajor improvements.
Thekeyguiding principles inthese reforms havebeentransparency, consistency andwithdrawal of
theState from activities thatcanbemore efficiently andeffectively performed bythecommunity or
private enterprise. Thecentral elements ofthereforms included:
- transformation ofgovernment departments involved incommercial activities (egpostal
services,electricitynetworks)intoState-OwnedEnterprises(SOEs)operatingonprivate
sector principles andexposed togreater competitive pressures;
- privatization offormer government enterprises (egtelecommunications, aviation,
railways, forestry) tomaximize efficiency gains; more than25enterprises worth over
NZ$14 billion havebeensoldsince 1987;
- financial management reforms forremaining government departments including
introduction offullaccrual accounting andindividual performance contracts between
Ministers andChief Executives;
- liberalizationanddecentralizationofgovernmentprocurementwithindividualmanagers
responsible forprocuring goods andservices onavalue-for-money basisagainst tightly
constrained departmental budgets;
- major redesign ofthepublic social services sector andreconstruction ofretirement
income policy toachieve greater efficiency andbetter targeted assistance.
(ii) Monetary andfiscal policy
14. Aconsistentpolicyframeworkisimportantforreducinguncertaintyinthebusinessenvironment.
Fiscal policy isgeared toreducing theclaims theGovernment makes onresources intheeconomy
andmonetary policy isaimed atdelivering general pricestability, akeyingredient inbusiness planning.
Among thereforms inthese areas were:
- fiscal policy reoriented tomedium-term objectives ofachieving surplus intheadjusted
fiscalbalance,reducingdebtlevelsandreducinggovernmentexpenditureasapercentage
ofGDP;
- introductionoflegislationrequiringregularaccrual-basedfiscalreportingandarticulation
offiscal objectives andstrategies;WT/TPR/G/20 Trade Policy Review
Page 4
- monetary policy directed tothesingle economic objective ofmaintaining general price
stability;
- formulation andimplementation ofmonetary policy devolved toanindependent
authority, theReserve Bank ofNewZealand, pursuant toapolicy targets agreement
between Government andtheReserve Bank Governor (current agreement requires
underlying inflation tobemaintained in0-2percentrange).
(iii) Financial liberalization
15. Thecostofcapital isanimportant constraint onbusiness activity. Removal ofgovernment
imposed barriers toentryinbanking andofregulatory distinctions between different institutional groups
inthefinancial sector increased linkages withinternational financial markets andimproved therange
ofservices available. Businesses gained access tomore flexible andcosteffective ways offinancing,
bringing thecostofcapital closer toworld levels. Included amongst thereforms were:
- removal ofcontrols onprices, interest rates, wages andtheexchange rate;
- abolition ofcontrols oncapital movements;
- sweeping deregulation offinancial markets including removal ofrestrictions onthe
number ofbanks andonbankcompetition.
(iv) Taxation
16. Distortions inthetaxsystem influence business andinvestment decisions. NewZealand had
averycomplex taxsystem withhighmarginal taxratesoffset byavariety ofconcessions forparticular
types ofinvestment. Reforms havecreated amore neutral investment environment bothinternally
andbetween NewZealand andoffshore taxjurisdictions. Included were:
- broadening ofthetaxbasethrough introduction ofacomprehensive value-added tax;
- simplification ofpersonal taxstructure toatwo-step scale withremoval ofspecific
exemptions andconcessions;
- substantial reductions inratesofdirect taxation withthecompany ratereduced from
48to33percentandthetoppersonal ratecutfrom 66to33percent.
(v) Infrastructure deregulation
17. Inefficiencies ininfrastructure services imposed significant costs onthegoods sector.
Privatization andderegulation intelecommunications andinallmodes oftransport hasincreased the
range ofservices available andsubstantially reduced costs toindustry. Reforms included:
- substantial deregulation across most sectors oftheeconomy;
- removal ofgovernment imposed entry barriers inmajor infrastructure industries such
asroad,rail,airandmaritimetransport,telecommunications,broadcastingandelectricity
distribution.New Zealand WT/TPR/G/20
Page 5
(vi) Labour market deregulation
18. Priorto1991theNewZealandindustrialrelationssystemwascentralized.Collectivebargaining
wasbacked bycompulsory unionism andgovernment machinery tosettle collective documents. This
ledtobargaining thatwasessentially national incharacter andbased onoccupational status; asystem
which produced rigidoutcomes compounding thedifficulties oflabour market adjustment toeconomic
conditions. Reforms toencourage decentralization ofdecision making haveallowed formore rapid
adjustment inthelabour market where needed andhascontributed toincreased competitiveness and
economic andemployment growth. Thereforms included:
- deregulation anddecentralization oflabour markets providing freedom forindividual
orcollective bargaining between employers andemployees attheworkplace, firmor
industry levels;
- accompanying legislation specifying minimum standards ofemployment (such as
minimum wages, statutory sickleave provisions, annual andstatutory holidays) and
aremedy forunjustified dismissal applicable toallemployees.
(vii) Investment liberalization
19. NewZealandrecognisesthatforeigndirectinvestment(FDI)isavitalcontributortoitseconomic
development andakeyelement inpromoting international economic linkages intheglobal economy.
Aswellasproviding development capital, FDIprovides access totechnology, management skills and
distribution channels beyond thecapacity which canbegenerated bydomestic firms. NewZealand
hastherefore created aliberal foreign investment régime applicable toinvestment from allcountries
without discrimination. Investment reforms included:
- liberalization andsimplification ofthescreening régime, applicable tocertain
investments, administered bytheOverseas Investment Commission;
- removal ofsector-specific restrictions oninvestment outside theareas offishing
(restrictions remain onownership offishing quota) andcivilaviation (foreign ownership
ofNewZealand international airlines isrestricted inaccordance with standard
international practices).
(viii) Trade liberalization
20. Tariffs andquotas toprovide protection from imports foroneindustry actasataxonother
sectors oftheeconomy. NewZealand hasfollowed acomprehensive, consistent andcertain programme
ofliberalization toincrease theexposure ofdomestic consumers andproducers tointernational price
signals. Included amongst thereforms havebeen:
- elimination, completed in1992, ofallquantitative controls andnon-tariff measures
onimports maintained forindustry protection purposes;
- elimination ofallexport subsidies andtrade-distorting agricultural subsidies;
- changes toagricultural marketing, including removal ofdomestic monopoly powers,
inlinewithmarket conditions;
- comprehensiveunilateraltariffreductionprogrammesdesignedtoencourageinternational
competitiveness inthedomestic economy (tariffs werereduced byabout 50percentWT/TPR/G/20 Trade Policy Review
Page 6
between 1988and1992andbyafurther 33percentbetween 1993and1996, resulting
inasimple average m.f.n. rateforalltariff items ofaround 7percent).
(ix) Results
21. Results ofthereform process werenotimmediate butoverthepastfourorfiveyears thebenefits
havebeenclear. Among thebenefits are:
- inthefiveyears since March 1991 theeconomy hasgrown, inrealterms, byabout
15percent;
- underlying inflation hasremained below 2percentformostoftheperiod since 1991,
currently standing at2.3percentfortheyearended June1996;
- export earnings overthefiveyears toJune1996 haveincreased by33percentwith
significant growth inexports ofnon-commodity manufactures;
- overasimilartimeframeunemploymenthasfallenfrom10.3percentinDecember1991
to6.1percentinJune1996 while thetotalnumber ofpeople inemployment has
increased bymore than234,000 (16.1 percent), withthree quarters ofthisincrease
being infulltimeemployment; and
- netpublic debthasfallen from50.5percentofGDPinDecember 1991to32.4percent
ofGDP inJune1996.
22. Thereform process hasalsoattracted considerable international interest andrecognition. For
foursuccessive years to1995, theWorld Competitiveness Report1ratedNewZealand asthetopOECD
country forgovernment policies andforlongtermcompetitiveness ofdomestic economic policies.
Inthe1994and1995 reports NewZealand wasrated topOECD country foroverall competitiveness
intheExecutive Opinion Survey. Thisyear, intheGlobal Competitiveness Report2,NewZealand
wasranked astheworld sthirdmost competitive economy afterSingapore andHong Kong.
(x) Future directions
23. Acrucial feature oftheeffectiveness ofthereform programme hasbeenitscomprehensive
andco-ordinated nature. Allaspects ofthereforms weredirected toimproving thecontestability and
functioning ofmarkets. Trade liberalization played akeyrôleinthisprocess andinthesustainability
oftheoutcomes through increasing theexposure ofproducers andconsumers tointernational market
signals.
24. Reform tomeetthechallenges andtakeadvantage oftheopportunities ofaglobalizing economy
must beanon-going process. NewZealand hastherefore already embarked onafurther unilateral
tariff reduction programme which bytheyear2000 willresult inmore thanhalfoftariff linesbeing
atzerowhile themajority ofthose linesinwhich tariffs arelevied willbeatarateof5percent. By
thattimenotariff willbehigher than15percentandthesimple average m.f.n. tariff ratewillhave
fallen toaround 3percent.
1World Competitiveness Report 1992-1995; jointly published onanannual basis byInstitute for
Management andDevelopment, Lausanne andWorld Economic Forum, Geneva.
2Global Competitiveness Report, 1996; World Economic Forum, Geneva.New Zealand WT/TPR/G/20
Page 7
25. Afurther review ofremaining tariffs willbeheldin1998 withtheobjective ofdetermining
howtomove towards azeroendpoint foralltariffs under aunilateral domestic tariff reduction
programme.
IV. Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations
26. TheAustralia-NewZealandCloserEconomicRelationsTradeAgreement(theCERAgreement)
istheprimary instrument governing theconduct oftradebetween Australia andNewZealand ingoods
andservices. Itisadynamic agreement which, since itsinception in1983, hasdeveloped intoone
ofthemost comprehensive bilateral free-trade agreements inexistence.
27. Since theachievement offullfreetradeingoods in1990, through theelimination ofalltariffs
andquantitative import orexport restrictions, theagreement hascontinued tobebroadened anddeepened
inanumber ofrespects including:
- elimination, uponachievement offreetradeingoods, ofanti-dumping actions ontrans-
Tasman tradeingoods meeting CERorigin rulescoupled withadjustment tostandards,
procedures andenforcement ofdomestic competition lawstodealwithcertain anti-
competitive behaviour byfirms inonecountry thathavemarket power intheother
country orinthecombined CER market;
- expansion ofthecoverage offreetrade inservices under the1988 CER Trade in
Services Protocol through reduction and/or removal ofinscriptions fromtheannexed
listofservices towhich thenational treatment obligation oftheProtocol doesnotapply;
- initiatives tofacilitate standards harmonization through recognition andharmonization
ofconformity assessment systems pursuant totheformation in1991ofatrans-Tasman
JointAccreditation System (JAS-ANZ) andestablishment in1995ofaframework for
harmonization offoodstandards;
- conclusion thisyearofatrans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement providing
forrecognition ofgoods andprofessional qualifications under which agood which
islegally abletobesoldinonecountry canbelegally soldintheother andaperson
whoisregistered topractise anoccupation inonecountry isentitled topractise an
equivalent occupation intheother country.
28. From itsinception CERhasbeenperceived byitsMembers asanoutward-looking agreement.
Australia andNewZealand havetherefore eachcontinued toimplement unilateral tariff reductions
onanm.f.n. basisandtoparticipate actively inregional andmultilateral tradeliberalization processes.
Consistent withtheemphasis bybotheconomies onopen regionalism, Australia andNewZealand
areparticipating inMinisterial leveldialogue between CER andtheeconomies oftheASEAN Free
Trade Area (AFTA) andinamore recently initiated dialogue between CER andtheeconomies of
MERCOSUR.
V. AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation
29. NewZealandwasafounderMemberofAPEC(AsiaPacificEconomicCooperation)established
inCanberra, Australia in1989. Asagrouping which accounts formore than50percentofworld
GDP, includes eight ofNewZealand stoptenexport markets andisthesource ofover70percentWT/TPR/G/20 Trade Policy Review
Page 8
ofNewZealand strade, APEC represents themost promising trade andinvestment forum for
NewZealand outside theWTO.
30. Atthe1994 APEC Leader sSummit inBogor, Indonesia, all18APEC Member economies
committed themselves tothegoaloffreeandopentradeandinvestment intheregion bytheyear2020.
AlongwiththeotherindustrializedMembereconomiesofAPEC,NewZealandiscommittedtoachieving
thisgoalbytheyear2010.
31. In1995APEC Leader sadopted theOsaka Action Agenda asameans togiveeffect toAPEC s
goals. Thecomprehensiveness oftheBogor goalwasreaffirmed asoneoftheoverarching “General
Principles ”agreed asanintegral partoftheAPEC liberalization andfacilitation process. TheOsaka
Action agenda contains anextensive work programme covering trade andinvestment liberalization
andfacilitation, andeconomic andtechnical co-operation. Among thefifteen specific action areas3
NewZealand isco-ordinating discussion oncompetition policy andderegulation.
32. Following thisagenda NewZealand andother APEC Members areworking toprogressively
implement theBogor goalthrough:
- concerted unilateral actions asdetailed byeacheconomy inIndividual Action Plans;
and
- co-ordinated actions asdetailed byeacheconomy inCollective Action Plans.
33. Ineachcaseplans aretocover actions inall15specific action areas andaresubmitted tothe
annual APEC Ministerial Meeting forassessment. Initial plans willbesubmitted thisyearatthe
Ministerial Meeting inManila, ThePhilippines.
34. TheoriginsoftheAPECprocesslieprimarilyintherealisationthatdynamicbusiness-ledgrowth
intheAsia-Pacific region iscreating growing economic interdependence andacommon interest in
sustaining thatdynamism. TheOsaka Action Agenda isdesigned tohelpthisprocess byfurther
liberalizing theregulatory environment inwhich tradeandinvestment operate, andbypromoting other
forms ofeconomic co-operation.
35. From itsinception APEC hashadtheobjective ofdeveloping andstrengthening theopen
multilateral trading system. NewZealand recognises theneedforregional andmultilateral approaches
totrade andinvestment liberalization tosupport andreinforce eachother. Thisneedunderpinned the
recent meeting ofAPEC Ministers inCharge ofTrade inChristchurch, NewZealand atwhich APEC
Ministers recognized theimportance ofensuring thatthemultilateral trading system continues todevelop
inresponse totheevolution oftheworld economy andrecognized thecontribution thateachAPEC
Member economy, inimplementing theOsaka Action Agenda, ismaking incontributing towards a
progressively more openworld trading environment.
3Specific action areas aretariffs, non-tariff measures, services, investment, standards andconformance,
customs procedures, intellectual property rights, competition policy, government procurement, deregulation,
rules oforigin, dispute mediation, mobility ofbusiness people, implementation ofUruguay Round outcomes,
andinformation gathering andanalysis.New Zealand WT/TPR/G/20
Page 9
VI. World Trade Organization
36. ForNewZealand asasmall country withglobal trading interests theexistence ofastrong,
open, rules-based andnon-discriminatory multilateral trading system isvital. NewZealand strade
policy strategy emphasises thatcomplete multilateral freetrade isthe“firstbest”outcome for
NewZealand. TheWTO iscentral totheachievement ofthisoutcome.
37. Because ofthelong-standing absence ofeffective multilateral rules inNewZealand smain
areaoftrade, agriculture, itwaswidely recognised thatfewcountries hadahigher stake than
NewZealand insuccessfully concluding theUruguay Round. Estimates suggested thebenefit to
NewZealand oftheresults oftheRound were equivalent tobetween 2and3percentofGDP.
38. ForNewZealand, which hadalready benefited from itsownprogramme ofunilateral
liberalization, mostofthesegainsstemmed fromtheopening ofexport opportunities inforeign markets.
Reflecting theextent ofthedomestic reform programme, NewZealand wasalsooneofthefew
participants intheUruguay Round toactively promote trade liberalizing outcomes inallnegotiating
areas.
39. With theWTO approaching itssecond anniversary andthefirstofthebiennial meetings of
itsMinisterial Conference inSingapore, thefirstandon-going priority forallMembers istoensure
thefullandtimely implementation ofthecommitments contained intheMarrakesh Agreement.
NewZealand isdetermined toplayitspartinthishaving accelerated theimplementation ofrules-based
agreementssuchasTradeRelatedAspectsofIntellectualProperty(TRIPS)andTradeRelatedInvestment
Measures (TRIMS), having fullyintegrated itstextile sector under WTO rulesandhaving implemented
allcommitted tariff reductions other thanthose insectors subject totariff elimination.
40. Globalization andregionalism aretwinforces shaping theevolution oftheworld economy.
NewZealand recognizes thatitisonlythrough trade andinvestment liberalization atthemultilateral
level thatthechallenges andopportunities ofglobalization canberesponded tofullyforthebenefit
ofallpeoples. NewZealand istherefore convinced thatMinisters meeting inSingapore need, through
theirdeliberations onthework programme ofWTO, toenergize themultilateral trading system. The
workprogramme mustprovide coherence intherulesofthesystem through addressing allliberalization
issues relevant toaglobalizing world economy anditmustbesuchastoensure convergence between
regional andmultilateral liberalization initiatives.
41. Theultimate success oftheUruguay Round layinthefactthatitaddressed issues ofinterest
toallparticipants. Theinitial stepsagreed toliberalize world tradeinagriculture would nothavebeen
possible without outcomes inareassuchasservices andintellectual property. Butneither would progress
havebeenmade inthenewer areas ofnegotiation unless theliberalization process hadstarted inareas,
suchasagriculture andtextiles, ofsignificant residual protection inindustrialized countries.
42. TheUruguay Round alsoanticipated much ofthewayahead. Itwasthefirstmultilateral trade
negotiation tobeinclusive ofabroad spectrum ofcountries involved intheglobal economy andto
produce meaningful liberalization inareas ofinterest across thatspectrum. Significantly itsoutcome
alsocontained theseeds offurther progress inmostoftheareas ofnegotiation. Thebuilt-in agenda
resulting fromtheUruguay Round agreements, which covers future negotiations orreviews inawide
range ofareas, constitutes asubstantive andbalanced work programme totakethemultilateral trading
system forward onatrade-liberalizing path.
43. Included, forinstance, isagriculture, where itwillbeessential tocontinue thereform process
inordertoeliminatethesubstantialdistortionstoagriculturaltradewhichwillstillexistbytheyear2000,
andservices, where itwillbeimportant tocontinue theprocess ofprogressive liberalization inexpandingWT/TPR/G/20 Trade Policy Review
Page 10
thescope ofspecific commitments onmarket access andnational treatment under theGeneral Agreement
onTrade inServices (GATS). Inaddition toother areassuchastextiles, rulesoforigin andintellectual
property, thebuilt-in agenda, through theprovisions ofGATS andTRIMS, encompasses work on
investment andcompetition and,again through theprovisions ofGATS, work ongovernment
procurement ofservices.
44. TheSingapore Ministerial provides theopportunity toconstruct awork programme tocarry
forward thebuilt-in agenda inacoherent andco-ordinated manner. Insome cases work hasalready
begun while inothers detailed preparations willbenecessary before undertaking themandated
negotiations andreviews. Insome areas, suchasinvestment andcompetition policy, consideration
might begiven tothemeans bywhich thenecessary process ofinformation exchange andanalysis
might bestbecarried out.Consideration should alsobegiven toundertaking liberalization initiatives
beyond those contained inthebuilt-in agenda, suchasfurther work onimprovement ofmarket access
forindustrial products.
45. Inadvancing theprocess oftradeliberalization, NewZealand considers itisimportant forthe
multilateral trading system, through thework oftheWTO Committee onTrade andEnvironment, to
make itsfullcontribution toensuring thattradeliberalization andmeasures toprotect theenvironment
remain mutually supportive ofsustainable development.
46. NewZealand alsoconsiders itessential, ifconvergence between regional andmultilateral
liberalization initiatives istobeensured, fortheWTO toactively work towards thegoalofachieving
freeandopen trade andinvestment atthemultilateral level. Thework programme tobeagreed at
theSingapore Ministerial should begin tosetinplacethemodalities forachieving thisgoalandMinisters
should begin toreflect ontheurgency withwhich itmust beattained.
VII. Conclusion
47. Under thecurrent structure oftheWTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism, NewZealand is
oneofthose Members whose trade régimes arereviewed every sixyears. Thisreport hasbriefly
described thefurther steps which NewZealand hastaken during thepastsixyears, under eachofthe
fourelements ofitstrade policy strategy, toachieve sustainable economic growth through trade and
theprogress towards thisobjective which hasoccurred.
48. Asaresult ofacomprehensive, co-ordinated andongoing programme ofdomestic economic
reformandunilateraltradeliberalizationNewZealandiswellplacedtofurtherbenefitfromtheadditional
export opportunities which areemerging asinternational market-opening initiatives inthebilateral,
regional andmultilateral tracks begin tobearfruit. NewZealand strade policy strategy recognizes
thatforNewZealand tofullyrealise itsgoalofsustainable economic growth through trade, international
markets mustbecontestable through theachievement offreeandopentrade atthemultilateral level.
49. NewZealand hasalready indicated thatitintends tocontinue itsunilateral programme tofoster
openness ofthedomestic economy andstronger international economic linkages. Through this
programme andthrough further work inbilateral andregional foraandmultilaterally intheWTO,
NewZealand expects thatbythetimeofitsnextscheduled review intheyear2002 thegoaloffree
andopentrade andinvestment atthemultilateral levelwillbeconsiderably closer tobeing achieved.