The Liberalisation of Movements of Natural Persons under New Zealand's Free Trade Agreements: Scope, Effects and Implications

Abstract

Trade liberalisations have become one of the defining trends of the globalisation movements besieging the world in the 20th and 21st centuries. New Zealand’s increasing free trade agreement commitments over the past few decades are clear evidence this trend. While trade liberalisation in goods is well publicised, there are equally important provisions relating to the liberalisation of trade in services, especially those regarding the movements of natural persons between countries for the purposes of business or temporary employment. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (The Agreement) is an integral international agreement created within the World Trade Organisation framework facilitating such trade in services liberalisations. New Zealand under their recent free trade agreements has made many commitments to implement The Agreement’s provisions regarding the free movements of natural persons for the purposes of temporary employment and business. The associated effects of these provisions are variable, resulting in not only significant benefits and advantages for trading partners, but negative outcomes as well. It is the competing implications of these effects which set the foundation for an examination of the overall net effects of liberalised cross-border movements of persons. This paper will examine the commitments New Zealand has made under their free trade agreements to liberalise the movements of natural persons across borders between themselves and their trading partners. It will initially examine the specific obligations New Zealand has undertaken through these agreements and their compliance with the international framework established under the The Agreement. The paper will then consider the negative and positive implications associated with these liberalised movements of natural persons, critiquing New Zealand’s overall commitments and their associated effects, seeking to determine whether or not such liberalisations can be determined to be a success. It will then identify if there are any areas for improvement or changes which could be implemented in the future.