Media Release

On 1 October 2009, the Minister of Commerce, Simon Power, and the Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, announced that import tariffs will remain at their current levels until 2015 at the earliest.

The decision to maintain tariff levels followed Government’s consideration of whether there should be a further tariff review to decide non-preferential tariff levels after June 2011.

The current 5 per cent and 10 per cent tariffs are subject to any reductions that may arise out of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Round, but New Zealand's focus will be on increasing market access through free trade agreements.

The previous government had agreed to hold tariffs at 2009 levels until June 2011.

New Zealand's tariff situation after 2015 will be assessed again in 2013.

The Ministers’ full press release can be viewed here: Trade agreements key to removing import tariffs.

Current Import Tariffs

Most imported goods enter New Zealand free of duty.  Fifty-eight per cent of tariff lines are free of import tariffs.  In 2008, some 80 per cent of the total value of New Zealand's imports was tariff-free.

Import tariffs of 5 per cent apply to textiles and a range of other products imported from overseas that are also made in New Zealand.  These products include processed foods, machinery, steel, and plastic products. 

Tariffs of 10 per cent apply mainly to clothing, footwear, and carpet.

New Zealand has already eliminated all of its tariffs under the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Agreement and the NZ Singapore Closer Economic Partnership (CEP).  Tariffs will be phased out and eliminated under the Thailand-New Zealand CEP and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (Chile, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore) by 2015, under the China-New Zealand FTA by 2016 and under the ASEAN Australia New Zealand FTA by 2020.

List of Available Documents

• Decisions on Tariff Policy Post 2011
  Government’s decisions of 21 September 2009 in the attached document are being released under the Official Information Act 1982.
• Cabinet Paper: Tariff Policy Post 2011
  This paper proposes that, in order to capture both the benefits of domestic tariff liberalisation and enhanced and reciprocal access to the markets of important trading partners.