At the end of this fourth round of talks, the negotiators of a free trade agreement between the European Union and New Zealand have made “good progress” across all discussed areas. These included market access issues for both industrial and agricultural products, with discussions on these sensitive issues held in Wellington from 13 to 17 May.
A videoconference, to “maintain the momentum” on these more sensitive issues, will take place before the next round, which is scheduled to take place in July 2019 in Brussels.
During this fourth round of negotiations, the parties also discussed market access offers for services, investment and public procurement and sealed the chapter on transparency, according to a European Commission report (see EUROPE 12203/35, 12180/5).
Discussions on Rules of Origin were also fruitful; the EU presented its proposal on product-specific rules and the introductory notes to these rules, on the basis of which detailed discussions were initiated.
The chapter on technical barriers to trade and its Automobile and Wine annexes were also on the agenda of this round. An agreement has been reached on cosmetics and the ban on animal testing. The subject of conformity assessment, on the other hand, should prove more laborious in the coming cycles.
Significant progress has been made in consolidating the text of the chapter on Investment and Capital Movements, payments and transfers, the report states. The latter also reports constructive discussions in the chapter on intellectual property rights, while highlighting a “significant divergence between both sides’ views” in a number of areas.
As for the chapter on sustainable development, progress has made it possible to restrict, for the coming cycles, the areas still to be addressed, including the question of Wellington's ratification of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (No 87) and on the Minimum Age Convention (No 138). To read the full report: https://bit.ly/2ZhQ3B2 (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)