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5th WTO Trade Policy Review of New Zealand
(June 29 and July 1, 2015)
Statement by the Republic of Korea
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
I would like to join the previous speakers in extending a warm welcome to the delegation of New Zealand for its fifth trade policy review, and especially thank Deputy Secretary Mr. David Walker for his comprehensive presentation. Welcome back to Geneva and your presence here, without a doubt, tells us this TPR will be a great success. Allow me also to express my sincere appreciation to Ambassador John Adank for his dedication to the work of the WTO, particularly as a chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA). My special thanks go as well to Ambassador Fernando De Mateo (of Mexico) for his insightful contribution as a discussant and to the Secretariat for its detailed and informative report.
Mr. Chairman,
I am pleased to note that Korea and New Zealand have enjoyed excellent relations over the years. Bilateral trade volume between the two countries has steadily increased during the review period, reaching more than 3.2 billion US dollars in 2014, with New Zealand’s exports to Korea reaching 1.5 billion dollars.
With respect to FDI, Korea’s investment to New Zealand amounted to 495 million dollars, and New Zealand’s investment to Korea amounted to 71 million dollars in 2014. Certainly, these figures demonstrate a very close economic partnership that will continue to grow and develop in the future.
In particular, the Korea-New Zealand FTA was concluded last March. It is our hope that both countries will complete their domestic ratification procedures as soon as possible and the FTA will enter into force before the end of this year. In addition, we also hope that the FTA will not only contribute to further cementing
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the existing ties between the two countries, but will also play a role in helping advance trade liberalization as it aims to achieve a comprehensive and high- quality trade deal.
Mr. Chairman,
Turning to New Zealand’s overall economic performance, Korea would like to commend the New Zealand government for successfully engineering its macroeconomic policy over the review period. Even though its GDP growth slowed in 2010/2011 due to the devastating earthquakes that hit the Canterbury region, New Zealand has achieved an annual average 2.1% of GDP growth during the review period and GDP per capita reached more than 42,000 US dollars in 2013/14 up from 28,000 in 2008/2009.
To be clear, we believe that New Zealand can be a role model for all of us at the WTO. Since the mid 1980s, New Zealand has successfully implemented major economic re-structuring efforts while progressively liberalizing its economy. Its impressive track record in the area of economic reform has now made it one of the most open economies in the world, and one which is consistently highly- ranked in international indicators of economic freedom and ease of doing business. In this context, my delegation approaches this TPR from the perspective of desiring not only to learn more about New Zealand’s experience, but also to become better acquainted with the plans it has set for the future.
Mr. Chairman,
Korea appreciates the legislative reforms on trade remedies undertaken by the New Zealand government. As pointed out in the Secretariat Report, New Zealand’s anti-dumping and countervailing law underwent noticeable amendments including a new provision to allow importers to apply for refund of anti-dumping duties paid in excess of the margin of dumping. In addition,
“public interest” criteria were included in the process of imposing a safeguard measure. We consider that these reforms would contribute to modernizing New Zealand’s trade regime and promoting legitimate competition in the marketplace.
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We also appreciate the New Zealand government for its completion of negotiations to become a Party to the GPA in 2014. It is our hope that New Zealand will conclude its ratification procedures as soon as possible.
Mr. Chairman, we have submitted advance written questions to New Zealand. The questions posed by our delegation touch upon New Zealand’s relatively strict SPS regime including that regarding “Imports Health Standards (IHS)” and amendments to the Telecommunications Act related to the participation of foreign service providers. We thank the New Zealand delegation for providing answers to those questions, which we will review carefully and revert back to on the second day if necessary.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we very much hope that New Zealand, as a key player in the WTO, will continue to play an important role in helping not only strengthen the WTO multilateral trading system as a whole, but also advance the DDA negotiations. Korea has and will continue to work closely with New Zealand in the areas of the DDA and plurilateral negotiations. With this, I would like to conclude by expressing my sincere appreciation to the New Zealand delegation for its hard work and wish New Zealand every success in its TPR. Thank you.
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