Banks John: Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill — Second Reading 
Banks John: Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill — Second Reading 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
Hon JOHN BANKS (Associate Minister of Commerce) 
: 
 I could not help but notice that this particular bill the Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill was referred to the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee on 11 March 2009. Little would the members of that committee chaired by the first-class member of Parliament John Hayes have appreciated that some 3 years later I would be in the House promoting this bill. Now— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: Order! I am sorry but the Minister must move that the bill be read a second time so— 
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: Oh yeah well I move that the bill be read a second time. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: OK. The protocol must be that when the Minister starts he moves that it be read a second time. The Minister might like to start again. I will start the clock again so we get it right. 
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: Oh that is very generous Mr Assistant Speaker. I move  
That the Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill be now read a second time 
. The year 2009 was some time ago but this is an important bill. The closing date for submissions was 14 April 2009 and we are now in March 2012. So the National Government has been waiting for me to arrive via the people of Epsom for all of these years to see this bill—“Can-do Banksy”—promoted in this Parliament tonight because it is a critical piece of legislation particularly for the productive tradable sector of the New Zealand economy. I want to thank John Hayes the chairman of that select committee at the time for the great stewardship of this bill. 
In the commentary to the Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill it says: “The Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill seeks to repeal the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act 1987”—and I was in Parliament in 1987 when that bill was passed through with much more urgency; it had been only 5 years in the making not 4 so this bill is well overdue—“and to implement a new safeguard regime for New Zealand that is consistent with the World Trade Organisation’s rules and promotes efficient transparent and objective investigative and decision-making processes” for safeguards. In case people do not quite know what safeguards are they are emergency measures applied at the New Zealand border: any duty and any other facilitation to make sure that a domestic industry exposed to competition from increased imports is well and truly looked after. This country does not mind competitive trading but it does not like unfair trading and in the context of this bill and in the context of the trade agreements that this country is entering into all over the place it is important that this measure comes through Parliament. 
What I was going to say about the bill is something rather significant and it is this. It repeals the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act. The bill proposes four major changes to New Zealand’s safeguards regime. They are quite technical and they need to be narrated here tonight in Parliament for the record. 
Firstly safeguard investigations will be undertaken by the Ministry of Economic Development rather than by appointed temporary safeguard authorities. I think that is important and that has helped streamline these measures. This will align the conduct of safeguard investigations with other trade remedy investigations that are carried out by that ministry—that is the Ministry of Economic Development. It will also allow the expertise of the ministry to be fully utilised when carrying out safeguard investigations to ensure the efficient use of resources. 
Secondly the time frame to complete an investigation will be extended from the present 30 working days to 75 working days or 85 working days if provisional duties are requested at the border. The extension of the time frame also allows sufficient time to undertake a high-quality investigation to make sure that fairness is delivered. This will reduce the risk of any safeguard measure taken by New Zealand being overturned through the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process—and we have seen that work against sovereign States on many many occasions to the detriment of those countries. 
Thirdly the Minister of Commerce will be authorised to impose a provisional safeguard duty in order to provide protection to a domestic industry while an investigation is being completed. I think that mechanism is also very useful and serves as a deterrent to unfair traders—that at the border we have got aligned mechanisms in place for dealing with unfair competition at the border before the arrival with money being put up front so that that is secured. The ability of the Minister to impose a provisional duty will also allow swift action to be taken where necessary and will ensure that an industry is not disadvantaged by the extension of the time frame to complete a complex negotiation and investigation. So the Minister of Commerce will be authorised to impose a safeguard duty to allow a quick and efficient means for taking safeguard action at the border. 
Lastly as a trading nation—this is important—the bill introduces guidelines for determining whether the imposition of a safeguard measure is in the public interest. 
The bill also includes a number of technical matters aimed at improving the efficiency of applications and investigation processes and ensuring conformity with World Trade Organization rules. As we go forward negotiating more free-trade agreements with other sovereign States we need to have these absolutely aligned with World Trade Organization rules so that there is no opportunity for going to the World Trade Organization and having one of these overturned.The ACT Party believes that the more we can liberate trade between our nation and the rest of the world the more our exporters will flourish—and exports are the key to this country’s future particularly farming exports. The World Trade Organization leads the way in promoting multilateral free trade and it is in our interest to ensure our legislation aligns with its rules and this is what this bill does. 
Following the first reading of the bill the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee has recommended a number of amendments. These amendments do not alter the original policy intention outlined in the philosophy statement on the front page of the bill; these amendments simply strengthen and clarify the bill. Overall submitters were supportive of the bill and recommended that it proceed. If I remember rightly there were five submitters. Why it has taken 4 years to come through this House and why you have waited for the new member for Epsom to be driving this bill I do not know. 
I would like now to outline the most significant changes recommended by the committee. The committee has recommended the inclusion of an overview clause to explain that safeguard measures are one of several trade remedies available and to explain the difference between them. This is a useful addition to the bill. It will assist in guiding potential users to the most appropriate form of remedy to fast track remedies. The committee identified a number of provisions in the bill that granted the Minister of Commerce the discretion to exercise power—and by the way I am enjoying working with the new Minister of Commerce the Hon Craig Foss. He is well over these issues he clearly understands the importance of them and he has given me the opportunity to move things along with my portfolio responsibilities around commerce. 
Terminating or reducing the provisional or final safeguard duty—that is what it includes—are the powers the Minister is given and also refunding provisional duties and exempting certain countries from safeguard measures. The bill included in the definition of “safeguard measure” any other action the Minister considers appropriate. So the Minister in this context is very important and this bill gives the Minister of Commerce quite a lot of authority both legal and moral authority in the new legal authorities as defined by the bill. It updates the 1987 Act which was simply inadequate circa 2012 in protecting New Zealand industry and commerce against unfair competition and in delivering remedies at the border. 
This is what this bill does and I congratulate the select committee. It is not riveting stuff for the select committee but it is important stuff for the future of this nation. I would like to note that at the Committee of the whole House I will be authorising a Supplementary Order Paper to make minor technical amendments to the bill as recommended by parliamentary counsel. 
Finally I would like to thank again the members of the committee for their thorough examination of this bill. It is well designed. The trade policies allow New Zealand firms to operate in a more predictable environment. These policies play an important role in providing New Zealand industries with confidence to invest confidence to grow confidence to employ people and more important confidence that they can compete on the world stage which is made uncompetitive by some trading nations that would otherwise take advantage of this small State. That is what this bill does. It aligns all of the protocols with the World Trade Organization rules. I recommend the bill to the House.