Foss Craig: Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFoss Craig: Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 15 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17298. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CRAIG FOSS (Minister of Commerce): I moveThat the Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill be now read a third time. The Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill proposes four major changes to New Zealand’s safeguard regime. These changes relate to the body responsible for the undertaking of safeguard investigations the time frame for completing such investigations the imposition of a provisional and final safeguard duty and the introduction of guidelines for determining whether safeguard action is in the public interest. These changes will be implemented by repealing the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act 1987 and replacing it with a new Act that provides for a new safeguards regime that is consistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and that promotes efficient transparent and objective investigative and decision-making processes.Industry in New Zealand is subject to increasing competition from imports through unilateral tariff reductions the last of which were made in July 2009 and through continuing tariff reductions under free-trade agreements. If the WTO Doha round of negotiations is finally successfully completed then further tariff reductions may be required. This bill will ensure that New Zealand is well placed to respond to any surges of imported goods by providing any necessary temporary protection to a domestic industry to allow time for it to adjust to increase competition from imported goods in order to promote longer-term efficiency and competitiveness.Four safeguard inquiries have been carried out since 1987 and in only one case was a safeguard measure imposed. However as a small open economy safeguard measures are highly relevant to all New Zealand industries in the tradable goods sector. The bill proposes that safeguard investigations will be carried out by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment rather than by persons appointed as temporary safeguard authorities. This will align the conduct of safeguard investigations with other trade remedy investigations that are carried out by the ministry and will allow the expertise of the ministry to be fully utilised in undertaking safeguard investigations and ensure a more efficient use of resources.The bill also proposes that 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. The extension of the time frame will allow sufficient time to undertake a high-quality investigation and reduce the risk of any safeguard measure taken by New Zealand being overturned through the WTO dispute settlement process. To allow swift action to be taken to provide protection to a domestic industrywhile an investigation is being completed and to ensure an industry is not disadvantaged by the extension of the investigation time frame the bill proposes that the Minister of Commerce be authorised to impose a provisional safeguard duty in order to provide protection to a domestic industry while an investigation is being completed. The bill also proposes that the Minister of Commerce be authorised to impose a final safeguard duty to allow a quick and efficient means for taking safeguard action.Lastly the bill proposes the introduction of guidelines for determining whether the imposition of a safeguard measure is in the public interest to increase the certainty and transparency around the processes of considering public interest issues. Providing protection to the New Zealand manufacturers from offshore competition does not always find favour with economic purists who insist that open competition is always the best option. I believe however that New Zealand should have available to it a tool that is permitted under the WTO rules to allow what is only a temporary protection to an industry that is facing a sudden increase in import competition for the express purpose of providing time to adjust to that competition where the facts show that it would be sensible to take this course of action.To conclude the Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill aims to provide for a more efficient process for taking safeguard action where that is necessary to allow time for structural adjustment by New Zealand manufacturers to sudden increases in competition from imported goods while ensuring that public interest considerations are properly taken into account before this type of action is taken. This is an important safety mechanism in an environment where the remaining tariffs are low and are being reduced further through free-trade agreements—a process that is likely to accelerate over the next few years as further free-trade agreements are concluded. I would like to thank the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for its valuable contribution to the development of this bill. In addition I would like to thank officials for all of their work that has gone into the drafting of this legislation to bring it to this point. I commend this bill to the House.