The changing demand for apparel in New Zealand and import protection

New Zealand import protection has been reduced from amongst the highest in the developed world in the 1980s to about the OECD average in 1999. At that point, Government stopped further reductions that had been planned. That policy has left import protection on apparel goods (clothing and footwear) at high levels and restricted imports from many important trading partners, particularly in Asia. Future import protection in apparel goods may need to be revisited as New Zealand continues negotiations on free trade agreements with China and other countries. This paper reports on consumer demand elasticities estimated over the last 20 years for apparel items purchased by New Zealand households that would be useful in evaluating further reductions in import protection.