Overview
ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand signed the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Agreement (AANZFTA) in 2009. The Agreement went into effect in January 2010, and is the most comprehensive ASEAN’s FTA to date. It has been the crux of ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand economic relations over the past decade. The AANZFTA also has a specially-designed economic and technical cooperation program, namely AANZFTA Economic Cooperation Support Program (AECSP). It has delivered tangible outcomes in capacity building, institutional cooperation and support for the AANZFTA built-in agenda.
On 26 August 2014, Economic Ministers from ASEAN and ANZ signed the First Protocol to amend the AANZFTA. The Protocol does not change any of the preferences under the Agreement but introduces new procedures to ensure that administrative revisions are expedited in an efficient manner, removes some unnecessary information requirements and streamlines the presentation of the product specific rules of origin to make the Agreement more user-friendly for businesses.
The twelve Parties are currently in the process to upgrade the Agreement to better facilitate trade and investment and to address other remaining issues. The upgrade is also intended to ‘modernize’ the Agreement by updating the rules on electronic commerce, as well as including new provisions on government procurement, and trade and sustainable development.
Priority Areas of Cooperation
AANZFTA is the key platform to foster economic partnership, support technical capacity building and policy dialogue among the involved Parties. As the most comprehensive ASEAN’s FTA, the AANZFTA covers a broad spectrum of areas, with standalone chapters/ annexes which includes:
- trade in goods;
- rules of origin;
- customs procedures;
- standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures;
- sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
- safeguard;
- trade in services;
- financial services;
- telecommunication services;
- movement of natural persons;
- electronic commerce
- investment;
- intellectual property
- competition; and
- dispute settlement.
As part of the upgrade negotiations, new areas such as government procurement, consumer protection, and trade and sustainable development will also be included into the Agreement.
Major Sectoral Bodies/Committees
The primary element of the institutional structure is the AANZFTA Joint Committee (FJC), which reports regularly to the consultations of the ASEAN Economic Ministers, the Trade Minister of Australia and the Trade Minister of New Zealand (known as AEM-CER Consultations) through the meetings of their Senior Economic Officials (known as SEOM-CER Consultations).
A number of subsidiary bodies to the FJC were established under AANZFTA. Article 1(3) of Chapter 16 of the AANZFTA Agreement also provides for the FJC to establish additional subsidiary bodies (including ad hoc bodies) and assign them with tasks on specific matters, or delegate its responsibilities to any subsidiary body.
Key Documents
The AANZFTA has a dedicated website (aanzfta.asean.org), which is also developed as one of the economic cooperation activities under AANZFTA.
Agreements:
- Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (2009) and the Annexes
- First Protocol to Amend the Agreement Establishing the AANZFTA (2014)
- Second Protocol to Amend the Agreement Establishing the AANZFTA (2024)
Statements/ Press Releases:
- 29th AEM-CER Consultations, Vientiane, 2024
- 28th AEM-CER Consultations, Indonesia, 2023
- 27th AEM-CER Consultations, Cambodia, 2022
- 26th AEM-CER Consultations, Virtual Meeting, 2021
- 25th AEM-CER Consultations, Virtual Meeting, 2020
- 24th AEM-CER Consultations, Thailand, 2019
- 23rd AEM-CER Consultations, Singapore, 2018
- 22nd AEM-CER Consultations, Pasay City, 2017
- 21st AEM-CER Consultations, Vientiane, 2016
- 20th AEM-CER Consultations, Kuala Lumpur, 2015
- 19th AEM-CER Consultations, Nay Pyi Taw, 2014
- 18th AEM-CER Consultations, Bandar Seri Begawan, 2013
- 17th AEM-CER Consultations, Siem Reap, 2012
- 16th AEM-CER Consultations, Manado, 2011
- 15th AEM-CER Consultations, Da Nang, 2010
- 14th AEM-CER Consultations, Bangkok, 2009
- 13th AEM-CER Consultations, Singapore, 2008
- 12th AEM-CER Consultations, Makati City, 2007
- 11th AEM-CER Consultations, Kuala Lumpur, 2006
- 10th AEM-CER Consultations, Vientiane, September 2005
- 9th AEM-CER Consultations, Jakarta, September 2004
- 8th AEM-CER Consultations, Phnom Penh, September 2003
- 7th AEM-CER Consultations, Bandar Seri Begawan, September 2002
- 6th AEM-CER Consultations, Hanoi, September 2001;
- 5th AEM-CER Consultations, Chiang Mai, October 2000
- Joint Media Statement on the Signing of the Agreement Establishing the AANZFTA
Publications and Related Links
General Review of AANZFTA
- The AANZFTA Parties envisaged that the Agreement would be a ‘living’ document, periodically reviewed and updated to ensure it remains as ambitious and relevant as it was when it first entered into force. Therefore, the AANZFTA includes provision for regular reviews to improve its implementation.
- The inaugural review was split into two stages, where Stage One is ‘backwards looking’ and assesses the implementation of the AANZFTA Agreement to date, while Stage Two is ‘forward looking’ and provide recommendations for the improvement of the AANZFTA.
- More information about the General Review can be found here.
Business Engagement Strategy and Tools
- To ensure the Agreement can benefit businesses, the AANZFTA Joint Committee adopted a Business Engagement Strategy on 27 August 2018.
- Additional tools and information to help businesses better utilize AANZFTA can be found here. It includes Tariff Finder, Product Specific Rules Finder, and relevant information on AANZFTA.
Other publications can be found here
