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1500 GENEVA TIME ( 1300 GMT ) 14 MAY 2003
PRESS/TPRB/214
14 May 2003
(03-2569)
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: NEW ZEALAND
Success in weathering external shocks helped by radical reforms
On-going reforms have markedly improved New Zealand's macroeconomic performance and made
it one of the most open economies in the world. But despite relatively strong growth, per capita
income growth has not met the authorities' expectations. Reliance on agricultural exports may beamong the reasons, according to a report on the trade policies and practices of New Zealand,
released May 14 by the WTO Secretariat.
The report notes that in an effort to raise per capita income to the top half of the OECD's ranking,
the Government has introduced a new proactive policy to assist exporters, encourage innovation
and attract foreign investment and skilled labour. The report also notes, however, a halt toprivatizations and a freeze in the unilateral tariff-reduction programme.
The WTO report, along with the policy statement of the Government of New Zealand, will serve as
a basis for the third Trade Policy Review (TPR) of New Zealand by the Trade Policy Review Body of
the WTO on 12 and 14 May 2003.
The following documents are available in MS Word format on the WTO web-site. They can be
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp214e.htm
• Secretariat report
> Contents and summary observations
> Economic environment> Trade policy regime: framework and objectives
> Trade policies and practices by measure
> Trade policies by sector> Appendix tables
• Government report
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks
• Minutes of the meeting (available approximately six weeks after the meeting).PRESS/TPRB/214
Page 2 of 2
Note
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant
developments that may have an impact on the gl obal trading system are also monitored. For each
review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents
are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). Thesedocuments and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are publishe d shortly afterwards.
Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly
Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States
Next reviews:
Morocco : 16, 18 June 2003
Indonesia : 27, 30 June 2003
Senegal/Niger  : 28, 30 July 2003
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tpr_e.htm#reviews
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews
END