Competition, Trade and Investment Branch
[ Page Last Reviewed On 20 April 2007 ]
Deputy Secretary: Andrew Jackson
The Competition, Trade and Investment (CTI) branch (formerly Regulatory and Competition Policy Branch) has the key responsibility for providing policy advice on the regulatory and competition frameworks for business, with a view to achieving business efficiency, and enhancing innovation and sustainable economic growth.
In addition to its regulatory and law reform agenda, the branch will give increasing focus to understanding the issues that drive competition, trade and investment, and the linkages between these and broader economic development initiatives. In this context, the CTI branch will work more closely with the Ministry's Effective Markets, Energy and Communications, and Economic Strategy branches to deliver more coherent and sophisticated policy proposals. In addition, the branch will actively pursue the development of stronger relationships with businesses to gain a better perspective of investment and innovation, and the behaviours that drive competitive business performance.
Under the competition, trade and investment agenda, some of the key challenges and opportunities for the branch are:
- sharpening the focus on various competition issues and their relationship with economic development frameworks;
- building our own, and stakeholders' understanding of the linkages between competition, innovation and growth, including in the context of regional and sectoral development policies;
- deepening our understanding of the linkages between intellectual property and competition policy settings, and in particular, how these policy settings impact on investment and innovation in the New Zealand environment;
- leading the development of a broader and richer framework for thinking about savings and investment;
- building a better understanding of how to manage the tensions between the value of certainty in the regulatory environment for investment and the evolution of that environment to support a value added financial sector; and
- building our understanding of the role of standards in driving innovation and firm performance.
The branch will continue its policy advice responsibilities in relation to the various statutes encompassing competition, intellectual property, companies, securities, insolvency, insurance, standards and conformance, and tariff and trade remedies. The branch will also continue to administer tariff concessions and provide investigative services to establish whether New Zealand industries require remedies to prevent injury caused by dumped or subsidised imports, or sudden surges of imports.
The branch is divided into five teams and brief descriptions of each team's work programme are as follows:
Corporate and Competition Policy
The Corporate and Competition Policy team provides advice on the Commerce Act 1986; the application of competition policy to specific sectors such as dairy, aviation, and ports, as well as network industries; corporate governance legislation such as the Companies Act; insolvency; financial reporting; and personal properties securities. In addition to providing policy advice on a wide range of commercial law, the team gives priority to undertaking a review of Parts 4, 4A and 5 of the Commerce Act.
The team also provides purchase advice in relation to the Commerce Commission and Accounting Standards Review Board.
Financial Sector
The Financial Sector team is responsible for delivering commercial law that facilitates business activity and enables businesses to operate efficiently and effectively. The team provides policy advice on the regulation of financial markets, insurance, superannuation and financial institutions; on coordination of business law with Australia; and on savings, investments, and capital markets issues.
The team provides ownership advice to the Minister of Commerce on the Securities Commission and the Takeover Panel.
Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property Policy team provides policy advice on intellectual property law covering trademarks, copyrights, patents and plant variety rights; and promotes New Zealand's interests on intellectual property issues in international fora such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and in free trade negotiations. The team also provides policy advice on the coordination of intellectual property law with Australia, and on the interface between intellectual property and traditional knowledge.
The team advises the Minister of Commerce on appointments to the Copyright Tribunal.
Trade Facilitation and Tariffs
The Trade Facilitation and Tariffs team is responsible for providing policy, technical and negotiating advice and skills on a wide range of focal areas, including:
- New Zealand's standards, accreditation and certification infrastructure and the regime's integration with those of trading partners to reduce technical barriers to trade;
- Mutual Recognition Arrangements, including the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement;
- New Zealand's tariff regime, rules of origin, border issues and the impact of trade on the New Zealand market;
- administration of the tariff concessions scheme to remove unnecessary duty imposts where suitable alternative goods are not manufactured locally, reduce production costs and enable New Zealand manufacturers to become more internationally competitive; and
- coordination of policy and negotiating advice for free trade agreements and closer economic partnership negotiations.
The team also provides purchase advice in relation to the Standards Council and the Testing Laboratories Registration Council and monitors the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand.
Trade Rules and Remedies
The Trade Rules and Remedies team administers and provides policy advice on trade remedies legislation in relation to dumping, subsidy and temporary safeguard issues under the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Act 1988 and the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act 1987. The team is also responsible for providing advice in international negotiations including in the World Trade Organisation on trade rules, and free trade agreement negotiations.
The team advises the Minister of Commerce on appointments to the Temporary Safeguard Authority.
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