This order brings into force, on 13 December 2020, the Tariff (PACER Plus) Amendment Act 2018.

The Tariff (PACER Plus) Amendment Act 2018 amends the Tariff Act 1988 and the notes to, and Part II of, the Tariff as part of the implementation of a free trade agreement, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), done at Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on 14 June 2017. The amendments—

• enable the application of Preferential Tariff rates under PACER Plus; and

• amend the rules on “goods re-entered after repair or alteration” in the Tariff.

At the time of the making of this order, the text of PACER Plus was available at https://www.mfat.govt.nz/pacer

PACER Plus will also be implemented by regulations—

• to enable goods from specified PACER Plus parties that meet the rules of origin and other applicable requirements to have a Preferential Tariff rate of “Free”; and

• to give effect to the rules of origin and product-specific rules for goods imported from specified PACER Plus parties.

The regulations are—

• Tariff (PACER Plus) Amendment Order 2020; and

• Tariff (Specified PACER Plus Parties) Order 2020; and

• Customs and Excise (Rules of Origin for PACER Plus Goods) Amendment Regulations 2020.

The commencement of the Tariff (PACER Plus) Amendment Act 2018, effected by clause 2 of this order, is co-ordinated with the date of the coming into force of PACER Plus for New Zealand.