The 40th South Pacific Islands Forum, held recently in Australia, agreed that Forum Trade Ministers should meet, no later than November this year, to discuss a framework for a new regional trade and economic integration agreement.
Coming at the end of the two-day summit of leaders from Australia, New Zealand and 13 other Pacific islands, the initiation of this new agreement, known as PACER Plus, is intended to foster greater intra-regional trade opportunities by proceeding with the implementation of key regional trade agreements and, in particular, working to allow for the free movement of goods and services.
Australia and New Zealand have both provided funds to assist each of the Islands to prepare their positions for future PACER Plus negotiations. It is foreseen that any future agreement will need to include individual schedules of each country’s commitments, with tailored trade development assistance, taking into account their individual particular circumstances.
Any PACER Plus negotiations will proceed against concerns that the only beneficiaries of such a free trade agreement would be Australia and New Zealand, given their large trade imbalances with, and the lack of industry in, the other islands.
In particular, it has been pointed out that a standard Free Trade Agreement with Australia and New Zealand would see the other islands losing a large slice of government income currently obtained from their high import tariffs. A report commissioned by the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum has stated, for example, that the present percentage of revenues represented by import duties on goods originating in Australia and New Zealand are over 17% in both Tonga and Vanuatu.
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