Business Update

International agreements and electrical product safety

New Zealand has a number of Mutual Recognition Arrangements applying to electrical and electronic equipment. Besides the well known Trans-Tasman arrangement with Australia, there are also agreements with the European Union, Singapore, Taiwan, APEC, and most recently China. A feature of the China agreement is special provisions for dealing with products from China that are not compliant with New Zealand requirements, despite being marked as such.

All of these agreements have requirements for regulatory co-operation and information sharing focused on maintaining safe products, while minimizing the business compliance costs associated with the flow of products across the New Zealand border – in both directions.

At a recent APEC meeting in Brunei, New Zealand’s proposal for a hazard alert system was progressed. Once operational, this system will supplement the Australian, Taiwan, Singapore and China agreements to create a network covering the Asia-Pacific area, where information on dangerous products will be shared to the benefit of all.

New Zealand is also proposing a computer based hazard alert system for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. This will strengthen and enhance the APEC arrangement, which is presently based on a manual notification system.

Proposed amendments to the European Union agreement would also give New Zealand access to the RAPEX (Rapid Alert System) system, further expanding the information network. Assistance is also being provided to the ASEAN community in the application of risk management techniques.

While these networks will have a particular role in the identification and control of dangerous electrical products, there is also potential for wider application. These arrangements are therefore of wider strategic value to New Zealand. Energy Safety works closely with the competition and trade policy groups within the Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to provide leadership in these areas.

For more information on NZ’s MRAs see our website.

• APEC EEMRA
• ASEAN
• China FTA