New Zealand and Singapore are parties to a number of other free trade agreements. Read more about these agreements on our website: In September 1999, New Zealand and Singapore announced their intention to negotiate a trade agreement. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong signed the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore at a signing ceremony in Singapore on November 14, 2000. Singapore hosted the first ministerial review of the agreement in November 2001, while New Zealand hosted the second ministerial review of the agreement in July 2004. For merchandise exporters, the Tariffiner (external link) helps you make your decision. All tariffs to Singapore are now zero under all free trade agreements with Singapore. For exporters, it is important to look at the provisions of the free trade agreement on goods as a set of rules before they decide which agreement should be used. Singapore and New Zealand have agreed that if our free trade agreements treat an exporter, service provider or investor in New Zealand or Singapore differently, you are entitled to demand the more favourable treatment that will be granted to you under this Agreement. The closer economic partnership agreement between New Zealand and Singapore came into force on 1 January 2001. This is the most comprehensive trade agreement New Zealand has negotiated, with the exception of the agreement on closer economic relations with Australia.
The CEP aims to establish close historical links between Singapore and New Zealand by improving trade opportunities for goods, services and investment. This creates the potential for companies to choose and choose between the provisions of the various agreements to ensure that they maximize the business opportunities offered. Find out more about our other free trade agreements with Singapore. As part of the ANZSCEP upgrade, the two countries signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) (trade agreement that facilitates market access) for a large number of sectors. NZ-Singapore CEP is a free trade agreement that benefits all New Zealanders. Negotiations to upgrade the agreement began in 2017 with the development of trade rules in line with free trade agreements in Singapore and New Zealand, such as the ASEAN Australia New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). At the end of December 2019, Singapore and New Zealand ratified the enhanced Closing Economic Partnership Agreement (ANZSCEP). The agreement came into force on January 1, 2020. Therefore, you may have to decide on the free trade agreement that you must apply to transactions with Singapore.
Since the first CEP negotiation, we have negotiated a number of other free trade agreements, including Singapore. Under these agreements, New Zealand exporters may choose to travel to Singapore under the agreement in which they are to trade.