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Outcome 2: Safe And Freer Rules-Based Trade

Safe and Freer Rules- Based Trade – joint outcome with MFAT

This outcome encompasses international trade initiatives that will enhance the contribution the sectors can make to economic growth and prosperity. The key elements in this outcome relate to trade (imports and exports) and maintaining confidence in our biosecurity and food safety systems.

The current Doha Development Round focuses on reducing trade distortions and improving market access. In parallel with the Doha Development Round, New Zealand is also investigating or entering into negotiations on a range of CEPs to enhance New Zealand's bilateral trade, economic and investment relationships as well as building momentum for global trade liberalisation.

The SPS Agreement ratified as part of the Uruguay GATT Round outcome in 1994 signalled a move to a more robust trading environment and the potential removal of unjustified technical barriers to trade. The WTO was established to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible by establishing legally binding rules and agreements about how countries trade with each other. The WTO recognises three international bodies that develop science-based standards covering food safety (Codex Alimentarius), animal health (OIE) and plant health (IPPC). Further opportunities exist to move from the traditional prescriptive standards to ones with a science-based and outcome focus. Flexibility in achieving these outcomes is key to New Zealand's sectors fulfilling their growth potential.

New Zealand has a compelling interest in securing further international trade reforms, maintaining our current access arrangements and managing the animal, plant and human health risks.

There are some major risks that could impact on achieving safe and freer trade. They are:

• Low level of ambition achieved in agricultural and forestry negotiations.
• Failure of New Zealand assurances regimes.
• Unjustified and costly new border measures required by trading partners.
• Major failure of New Zealand's border protection system.

Intermediate Outcome 2.1: Maintained and enhanced market access for agricultural, horticultural, food and forestry products and reduced market distortions resulting from trade rules and market interventions

MAF's key contribution:
-Collaboration with MFAT
-Contributing to Doha Round and CEPs
-Ensuring a principled approach to standard setting
-Developing a fully integrated trade and SPS strategy for MAF

Reform of international agricultural trade rules is required to enable New Zealand businesses to take full advantage of their comparative and competitive advantages. More robust international rules and disciplines are needed to eliminate or reduce barriers and trade protectionism. Ongoing government-to-government negotiations are needed to address the large range of both economic (e.g. tariff and subsidy) and technical (e.g. health) trade and market access issues that confront New Zealand's exports. MAF will continue to work with MFAT in pursuing New Zealand's interests in such negotiations.

State Indicators	Impact Measures
Number and economic magnitude of unjustified trade barriers to New Zealand agricultural, horticultural, food and forestry exports. Economic loss to New Zealand exporters resulting from agribusiness, food and forestry producer and export subsidies in other countries. Economic magnitude of new products able to be exported to existing and newly developed markets where trade barriers exist.	Reduction in number and economic magnitude of unjustified trade barriers to New Zealand agricultural, horticultural, food and forestry exports. Reduction in economic loss to New Zealand exporters resulting from agribusiness, food and forestry producer and export subsidies in other countries. Increase in revenue from products exported as a result of newly acquired access provisions.

Intermediate Outcome 2.2: Credible and trusted animal and plant product assurance

MAF's key contribution:
-Ensuring standards are based on sound science
- Maintaining effective assurance programmes

Worldwide, consumers expect their governments to provide credible assurances about food safety at all times. The credibility of official health assurances affects market access. As a country which exports most of the food it produces, we recognise that domestic food safety issues impact on trading partners' governments and their consumers' perceptions of New Zealand products.

State Indicators	Impact Measures
Level of compliance by exporters with animal and plant product assurance requirements. Number and cost of rejections of New Zealand animal or plant product assurances by overseas authorities as a consequence of failure of the New Zealand assurance systems.	Enhancement in level of compliance by exporters with animal and plant product assurance requirements. Reduction in number and cost of rejections of New Zealand animal and plant product assurances by overseas authorities as a consequence of failure of the New Zealand assurance systems to meet requirements.

Intermediate Outcome 2.3: Balanced export and import regime covering the safety and suitability aspects of trade in animal and plant products

MAF's key contribution:
- Ensuring a science-and risk-based approach to trade rules
- Ensuring acceptance of New Zealand's SPS measures as equivalent

New Zealand trades with more than 200 countries and our long-term economic prosperity depends on access for our exports to overseas markets, and on imports of high-quality and cost-competitive goods. We cannot separate our export interests from our import interests because international trade rules demand that exports and imports be treated consistently, and inconsistency by New Zealand could trigger trade barriers for our products. As a trading nation, New Zealand cannot expect other nations to accept our exports if we are not prepared to apply comparable rules and criteria to our imports.

With responsibility for domestic food safety transferring to the NZFSA, MAF is now responsible for regulating both imports and exports of all animal, plant, food and forestry products. It is essential to maintain this close link and balance between our import and export regimes. Trade and market access interests cannot be separated from our biosecurity and food safety interests.

State Indicators	Impact Measures
Measures of any inconsistencies in New Zealand's treatment of imports and exports.	Demonstration of any inconsistencies in New Zealand's treatment of imports and exports.

Intermediate Outcome 2.4: Protection of land-based and aquatic environments, primary production systems, trade, and human health and wellness from biosecurity pests

MAF's key contribution:
-Leadership in biosecurity
-Implementing the Biosecurity Strategy
-Ensuring effective surveillance and response capability

New Zealand is more dependent on biosecurity than any other developed country. Our freedom from major pests and diseases is critical to producing efficiently and trading freely. Border controls will remain a critical part of protecting biosecurity as more tourists arrive and more goods are imported. It will be important to maintain the standards of transparency and scientific rigour required by international trading rules to encourage other countries to comply with those rules, and to demonstrate that New Zealand's strict controls are justified to countries that challenge them.

State Indicators	Impact Measures
Number of new incursions by harmful biosecurity pests. Interceptions and slippage of biosecurity pests at the border. The damage caused by biosecurity pests that have established in New Zealand.	Fewer new incursions by harmful biosecurity pests. More interceptions and less slippage of biosecurity pests at the border. Reduced damage caused by biosecurity pests that have established in New Zealand

Contact for Enquiries

Strategy and Performance Group
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington

Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0738 Contact this person