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First Protocol to Amend the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area
Treaty Code:
B2014-17
Treaty Type:
Bilateral/Plurilateral
Common Name:
AANZFTA First Protocol
Responsible Department:
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Administering Department:
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Treaty Status:
In Force
Treaty Summary:
Member countries have agreed on a Protocol that will amend the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).
The Protocol was signed on behalf of New Zealand by the Minister of Trade along with other AANZFTA Parties on 26 August 2014 at the 19th ASEAN Economic Ministers – Closer Economic Relations (Australia and New Zealand) Consultations in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
The changes contained in the Protocol are designed to make AANZFTA more business-friendly, transparent and improve administrative efficiency.
The Protocol does not change any of the preferences under the Agreement but introduces new procedures to ensure that administrative revisions are expedited in an efficient manner, removes some unnecessary information requirements and streamlines the presentation of the product specific rules of origin to make the Agreement more user-friendly for business.
AANZFTA was signed in 2009 and entered into force for New Zealand in 2010. Early in the implementation of AANZFTA, a number of inefficiencies were identified by the AANZFTA Parties, including traders.
The Protocol addresses these issues, which include:
- the unnecessary disclosure of potentially sensitive commercial information on Certificates of Origin where that information had no relevance to the claim for preference;
- the difficulty locating the appropriate rule of origin to determine whether a good is eligible for preferential duty rates;
- the inability to modify the requirements for information on a Certificate of Origin as needed, without going through a full treaty change process; and
- challenges faced by some parties to complete tariff and Product Specific Rules of Origin (PSR) transposition.
The Protocol makes four core amendments:
- Removal of the requirement for exporters to include the Free on Board (FOB) value of goods on Certificates of Origin when not using a value based rule to claim preference;
- Removal of the ‘general rule’ for rules of origin in favour of a consolidation of PSRs for all products in a comprehensive Annex;
- Removal of the List of Data Requirements (Certificate of Origin content) from the treaty text, so that the list is easier to amend; and
- Establishment of procedures to be followed to expedite future transpositions of the tariff and Product Specific Rules (PSRs) schedules following changes World Customs Organization Harmonised System (HS) tariff classification.
The Protocol will not enter into force until New Zealand, Australia, and four (4) ASEAN Member States have deposited their instrument of ratification with the depository. New Zealand ratified the protocol on 28 May 2015.
NZ Adherence Status:
In Force
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Adherence Date:
28/05/2015
Expired:
No
Date Concluded:
26/08/2014
Place Concluded:
Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
Entry Into Force Date:
01/10/2015
NZ Entry Into Force Date:
01/10/2015
Termination Date:
Withdrawal Date:
Withdrawal Notification Date:
NZ Objections:
No
NZ Reservations:
No
NZ Declarations:
No
NZ Territorial Applications:
None
NZTS Number:
UNTS Number:
Associated Treaties:
Other References:
Treaty Text Link:
Parties:
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Adherence Type:
Third person note
Adherence Date:
Signature Date:
26/08/2014
Entry Into Force:
01/10/2015
Contact Information:
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