EU-New Zealand FTA: beef tariff rate quota; negotiation documents and clarifications.
Dear Trade,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information: all negotiation documents relating to the negotiation of the tariff-rate quota for beef in the EU-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA Annex 2-A, Section C, clause 21).
Section C, clause 21 clarifies that the tariff-rate quota applies only to "product from animals that have been raised under New Zealand's pastoral farming conditions. For greater certainty, this does not include commercial feedlots." Please:
1) provide the relevant legal definitions for the purposes of the FTA of "New Zealand's pastoral farming conditions" and "commercial feedlots";
2) clarify whether these terms are defined under the law of New Zealand and, if so, provide the relevant references;
3) if the terms are not defined under the law of New Zealand, please clarify where their definitions are to be found and why those sources have been chosen by the parties.
Please find below my postal address:
Via Verona 63
37011 Calmasino (VR)
Italy
Yours faithfully,
Giovanni Dall'Agnola
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 15/07/2025 and registered on 18/07/2025 under the case number
2025/3626.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 08/08/2025. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
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[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 15/07/2025 and registered on 18/07/2025 under the case number
2025/3627.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 08/08/2025. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping
[4]Your application for access to documents - 2025/3626 -
Ares(2025)7083736 (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user –
Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Sir,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 18 July 2025 under case number 2025/3626.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 additionally working days.
Kindly note that the reply is about to be signed by the hierarchy and sent
to you in the coming days.
We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
Coordinator for access to documents
European Commission
DG Agriculture and Rural Development
Unit I.1 Agricultural law and enforcement
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
References
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1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01DC1B58.F33E7160
2. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
3. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
4. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
Dear Sir,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/3626 &
2025/4165.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
AGRI ATD Team
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping
[5]EU-New Zealand FTA - request to access to documents -
Ares(2025)8119148 (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user –
Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Mr Dall’Agnola,
Thank you for your questions raised in relation to the EU-New Zealand FTA.
In addition to the Commission’s reply on partial documents access sent on
02/09/2025 (Ares(2025)7113843), please find more detailed replies to your
questions mentioned in the letter going beyond the request for access to
documents:
- New Zealand beef exporters trading into the quota established
by the EU-NZ FTA are responsible for guaranteeing compliance with this
provision when they apply to the New Zealand Meat Board for a TRQ
Certificate of Eligibility. Exporters do so based on the Animal Status
Declaration (ASD), a legally binding declaration made by the relevant
cattle farmer (see question 3.2 on page 1 as well as the guidance on this
question on page 3 of the ASD). Suppliers (farmers) must, under New
Zealand legislation, complete and sign an ASD when an animal or animals
are moved between properties or sent for slaughter. The ASD must accompany
animals when they are moved and the exporters act at the regime of legal
liability in case of false declarations.
[6]https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/3113...
After the conclusion of the FTA, NZ Ministry of Primary Industries has
established [7]administrative standard for grass-fed meat and dairy. This
is not a legal standard but provides the guidelines for producers and
exporters. It is relevant to note that:
· This NZ standard does not apply per se to the beef quota
established in the FTA, which rules are entirely set out in the FTA
· This NZ standard of keeping animals for at least 340 days/year
grazing outside is stricter, on this account, if compared to the voluntary
Irish standard on grass-fed beef (as stipulated In the [8]Commission
Implementing Decision of 28 July 2023 on the publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union of the application for registration of a
name referred to in Article 49 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the
European Parliament and of the Council Irish Grass Fed Beef (PGI)
transposed into guidelines of Bord Bia Irish Food Board [9]Grass fed
Standard for Irish Beef) which prescribes an average of 220 days a year
of grazing.
I remain at your disposal in case of further questions.
Best regards
Tomasz May
International Relations Officer
European Commission
DG Agriculture and Rural Development
Unit G3 – Asia and Australasia
L130 06/046
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2 295 85 04
[10][email address]
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01DC2F01.A8549320
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
6. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.m...
7. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.m...
8. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
9. https://www.bordbia.ie/farmers-growers/p...
10. mailto:[email address]