Source: bnews.vn
Illustration
New Zealand announced that all of its dairy products will now be imported into China duty-free because the safeguard duty regulations on milk powder ended on December 31, 2023, marking the elimination of all including the reserved tax rates agreed within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay commented: “This is good news for our dairy industry. Eliminating these remaining tariffs will result in annual tax savings of approximately 350 million NZD (221 million USD).” “The FTA continues to benefit the New Zealand economy and strengthen the New Zealand-China trade relationship,” he emphasized.
New Zealand was the first developed country to sign an FTA with China in 2008, but the import of milk powder had to go through the longest reservation period. By 2022, then New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met Chinese President Xi Jinping and signed an agreement to expand trade relations.
China is currently New Zealand’s largest trading partner. In 2021, two-way trade turnover will exceed 37 billion NZD (23.40 billion USD). According to official data, milk exports to China have averaged 1.4 million tons/year, worth about 8 billion NZD/year in the past 3 years, of which half is powdered milk.
Safeguard duties are emergency tariffs that countries use to protect domestic industries from fierce competition when imports of a certain product suddenly increase. This special protection mechanism in the FTA is designed as a temporary measure. Safeguard duties on milk and cream, butter and cheese ended in 2021, while duties on milk powder ended on December 31, 2023.
