New Zealand economic indicators

In February 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the opening of FTA negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. The Parliament supported the idea of negotiating FTAs with these countries, but called upon the Commission to strike a balance between better market access conditions offered by the FTAs and possible EU defensive interests. Parliament listed a number of areas that needed to be addressed in a meaningful way in the agreements, such as investment, trade in goods and services, e-commerce and public procurement. In order to reach a balanced outcome in the agricultural and fisheries chapters, Parliament asked that due consideration be given, for instance, either to the inclusion in the FTAs of transitional periods or appropriate quotas, or to the exclusion of commitments in the most sensitive sectors. Parliament also called for the inclusion of provisions for bilateral safeguards to prevent increased imports that would adversely affect European producers in sensitive sectors, and for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
In October 2017, Parliament adopted another resolution on the negotiating mandate for EU trade negotiations with New Zealand. In it, Parliament requested that a clear distinction be made between an agreement on trade and foreign direct investment liberalisation, dealing with issues under EU-only competences, and a potential second agreement that would cover subjects whose competences were shared with Member States. In addition to enumerating areas to be included in the future FTA, the protection of the most sensitive sectors through, for instance, the introduction of appropriate quotas or transition periods, and of IPR through GIs, was also recommended.
The October 2017 opinion of Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) Committee called on the Commission to guarantee a level playing field for those European producers who would face excessive or unsustainable pressure on account of the sensitive nature of their products. This could be achieved, for instance, by including transitional periods in the FTA or by excluding commitments in the most sensitive sectors. In the opinion, it was also requested that the then-ongoing Brexit talks and the impact of Brexit on the agriculture and food sectors in the EU be considered in the FTA.
The Council’s mandate reflects Parliament’s particular concerns expressed with regard to agriculture. It explicitly mentions that sensitive products, including some agricultural products, should be covered by specific provisions. It also includes commitments, for instance, on the protection and enforcement of IPR, on safeguard measures and on sustainable development. On the other hand, the mandate formulates only the general objectives of the agreement, although it covers the chapters where the requests expressed in the resolutions and committee documents might be taken into account specifically.