A bill that significantly overhauls New Zealand's regime for imposing 'safeguard measures' on imported goods received its first reading in Parliament last night, Commerce Minister Simon Power said.

"The Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill is designed to ensure New Zealand's 'safeguard' regime is consistent with World Trade Organisation rules, and promotes efficient, transparent, and objective investigative and decision-making processes", Mr Power said.

'Safeguard measures' are emergency measures applied at the border, usually in the form of a duty, to temporarily protect a domestic industry from a surge in imported goods.

"Access to a safeguards regime is important at a time of increasing globalisation and competition from imported products, and will provide industry with the time and opportunity to adjust to increased import competition," Mr Power said.

The bill repeals and replaces the present safeguard regime in the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act 1987.  The main changes proposed in the bill are:

• Authorising the Commerce Minister to impose a separate provisional and final safeguard duty to allow safeguard action to be taken quickly and efficiently.


• The inclusion of criteria that must be considered when determining whether the imposition of a safeguard measure is in the public interest.


• Safeguard investigations carried out by the Ministry of Economic Development rather than by temporary safeguard authorities.  This will bring the conduct of  investigations into line with other trade remedy investigations into the impact of New Zealand industries being harmed by rapid increases in imports.


• Extending the timeframe for completing a safeguard investigation from 30 working days to 75 working days (or 85 working days if provisional measures are requested).

"The changes proposed in the bill will strengthen New Zealand's safeguards regime and allow domestic industry to have access to an efficient and transparent safeguards regime."