Learn from previous meets

 A regional non-government group is calling on the Forum Island Trade Ministers meeting in Kiribati this week to learn from the mistakes of previous negotiations and avoid making binding commitments in areas that will not support their exporters.

Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) campaigner Adam Wolfenden said: “The trade facilitation agreement that was negotiated in Bali last year should more accurately be called an ‘import facilitation’ agreement as that is what the real outcome will be for the Pacific. 

“It is a classic example of the rich countries agenda being forced onto developing nations such as the Pacific. The final agreement saw the rich countries getting binding commitments from Pacific countries on what they wanted but the Pacific only getting “best endeavour” language on the areas that would actually assist them.”

The focus of this week’s meeting is on the economic opportunities of trade promotion and facilitation reforms. 

It includes recognition of the recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on trade facilitation announced in Bali last year.

“We need to be very clear that the WTO Pacific Islands members left Bali last year committed to channelling scarce government revenues into undertaking reforms of their import procedures,” Wolfenden said.

“This was not an agreement that was aimed at facilitating exports from the Pacific.”

The trade ministers will be discussing the negotiations on the regional free trade agreement known as PACER-Plus. Negotiations cover such as labour mobility, development assistance, trade in services, investment and trade in goods.

Wolfenden said: “There is a lot of talk about how PACER-Plus will be an agreement that is in the Pacific’s interest but we’re yet to see much evidence of that. So far neither Australia nor New Zealand has come through with any decent offer on supporting the Pacific to actually take advantage of any outcome. 

“So far they are only offering money to implement the agreement, an offer that would ensure that the Pacific markets were left open for Australian and New Zealand exporters.

 “This is a chance for the Pacific to start a new dialogue about trade and what that means for the region.”