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- New Zealand
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Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, hold a special place as a partner of the New Zealand Government in line with Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi). In the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (‘FTA’), the EU and New Zealand recognise the importance of ensuring that Māori can benefit from the trade and investment opportunities that the FTA brings. For the EU, the FTA is the first of its kind to include a dedicated indigenous chapter as set out in the Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation chapter.
The FTA acknowledges Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a foundational document of constitutional importance to New Zealand and references Māori concepts. It seeks to strengthen links between EU and Māori enterprises (particularly SMEs), supporting science, research and innovation, and cooperating on geographical indications (GIs).
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand, signed between the British Crown and around 540 Māori chiefs. It establishes a continuing partnership between Māori and the Government that is based on several core principles, including participation. Recently, this includes in trade negotiations. Te Tiriti sets out obligations for the New Zealand Government across a wide range of areas that can be impacted by a
comprehensive free trade agreement, like the EU-New Zealand FTA.
Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation Chapter
In addition to specific provisions in other chapters that have the potential to benefit Māori, the FTA includes a chapter on Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation that aims to contribute to advancing Māori economic aspirations.
The chapter references Māori concepts, many of which are important for understanding Māori interests in trade and trade-related areas.
Examples of Māori Concepts in the EU-New Zealand FTA
- Te Ao Māori – Māori worldview that encompasses language, customs, protocol and identity as well as a core set of values
- Mātauranga Māori – Māori knowledge derived from both customary and contemporary systems
- Tikanga Māori – Māori customary behaviours or practices
- Kaupapa Māori – Māori approach or ideology
- Taonga – anything considered to be of value or treasured, including ideas, techniques or resources
The chapter also contains cooperative commitments, including:
- collaboration to improve the ability for Māori enterprises to benefit from the FTA’s trade and investment opportunities;
- improving EU-Māori enterprise links, in particular SMEs;
- strengthening science, research and innovation connections; and
- cooperating on Geographical Indications.
The FTA includes institutional mechanisms which will allow the EU and New Zealand to consider and further
discuss the implementation of this chapter.
Common Commitments of Particular Māori Interest
Beyond the Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation chapter, there are common commitments in the EU-New Zealand FTA that are of particular interest to Māori, namely:
- goods market access in meat, dairy, fish and seafood, horticulture, wine and honey;
- geographical indications that have unique characteristic attributable to its geographical origin within New Zealand;
- recognition of te reo Māori terms, such as ‘Mānuka’ being, exclusively, the Māori word for the Leptospermum scoparium tree;
- digital trade chapter;
- tourism and cultural sector services;
- EU refraining from granting or maintaining harmful fisheries subsidies, within the scope of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (June 2022); and
- trade-related aspects of gender equality policies
and measures through ensuring women, including wāhine Māori, benefit from the opportunities created by this FTA.
Ongoing engagement with Māori is a priority for the European Union in the implementation of the FTA with Aotearoa New Zealand.
