G/STR/Q1/NZL/15  
 
13 June 2016  
(16-3188)  Page: 1/2  
Working Party on State Trading Enterprises  Original: English  
 
  STATE TRADING 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONS1 FROM CHILE REGARDING THE NEW AND FULL 
ARTICLE XVII NOTIFICATION OF NEW ZEALAND2 
The following communication, dated 10 June 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of New Zealand.  
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 Question 1  
Previously we have requested for inform ation regarding Collaborative Marketing 
Agreements (CMA). As this mechanism appears to be a non-automatic export approval process, and given that Article XI :1 of the GATT provides that: 
 
"[n]o prohibitions or restrictions othe r than duties, taxes or other charges, 
whether made effective through quotas, import or export licenses or other 
measures, shall be instituted or main tained by any contracting party on 
the…the exportation or sale for export of any product destined for the territory of any other contracting party." 
And GATT Ad Article XI makes clear that the term "'export restrictions' 
include[s] restrictions made effective through state-trading operations." 
Could New Zealand please explain how such mechanism (CMA) is consistent with WTO 
rules? 
 
Reply: 
 
New Zealand’s export arrangements for kiwifruit are entirely consistent with the provisions of 
GATT 1994, and in particular Article XVII on state trading enterprises (STE). Zespri Group Limited is a non-governmental STE due to its automatic, but not exclusive, right to export kiwifruit to markets other than Australia, as established under the Kiwifruit Export Regulations 1999. The 
Kiwifruit Export Regulations 1999 also provide for othe rs to export kiwifruit, to markets other than 
Australia, in collaboration with Zespri subject to  approval of the independent body Kiwifruit New 
Zealand.  
 
Question 2  
Previously we have asked about the criteria  to evaluate CMA applications. Regarding 
this, the Kiwifruit Export Regulation s 1999, Art. 15(c), establishes that: 
 
"15(c) financial information to enable  an assessment to be made as to 
whether the net returns to suppliers in respect of each collaborative 
marketing arrangement were greater than would have been the case if the collaborative marketing arrangement had not been approved, including the 
                                               
1 G/STR/Q1/NZL/14. 
2 G/STR/N/15/NZL. G/STR/Q1/NZL/15 
 
- 2 - 
 
  methodology used by ZGL to allocate costs to the collaborative marketing 
approval holder." 
Could New Zealand please provide the inform ation that should be published according 
the quoted Article, which would provide a ba sis to assess the commercial considerations 
in connection with kiwifruit exports under CMA? 
 Reply: 
 Kiwifruit New Zealand, the independent body re sponsible for approving collaborative marketing 
arrangements for kiwifruit, publishes information on the collaborative marketing application process on their website: http://knz.co.nz . 
 
The information required to be released und er Regulation 15 of the Kiwifruit Export 
Regulations 1999, including part 15(c), is also avai lable on the Kiwifruit New Zealand website. As 
required, this information is published within three months of the end of the season 
(April-March). For the 2014-15 season, it is available here: http://www.knz.co.nz/wordpress/wp-
content/uploads/2014-15-Reg-15-Collaborative-Marketing-Release-ID-1414.pdf   
 
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