Forum Trade Ministers advance PACER Plus

We are greatly encouraged by the decisions adopted at the Pacific Islands Forum Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, on 29 April, which we had the honour to participate in. These decisions will help ensure that the negotiations for a new regional trade and economic agreement, known as PACER Plus, will lead to lasting benefits for Forum Island countries.
Trade Ministers gathered in Pohnpei were pleased to hear that the Chief Trade Adviser, Dr Christopher Noonan, had started work, and they encouraged him to move swiftly to finalise the establishment of his office. The Office of the Chief Trade Adviser will provide valuable, independent advice and support to Forum Island countries during the PACER Plus negotiations.
Trade Ministers accepted Australia’s offer to support a technical workshop on customs issues in late August/early September and Solomon Islands’ offer to host the next PACER Plus Officials’ Meeting later this year. We are convinced these meetings will be important occasions for further discussions on how PACER Plus can create opportunities for the region.
At the meeting in Pohnpei, Trade Ministers also discussed the fundamental importance of shipping, aviation, telecommunications and water infrastructure to increased trade in goods and services in the region. Ministers agreed that these matters should be added to the existing priority PACER Plus negotiating issues relating to goods trade, development assistance, and regional labour mobility.
On the issue of regional labour mobility, there is a strong desire to promote the skills development of Forum Island country workers to enable them to work on major projects in the region where foreign workers are required, such as Guam’s military build-up and PNG’s LNG project.
We see building the capacity of Pacific nations as an essential element of PACER Plus - putting substance into the “Plus”. This is because trade liberalisation is not an end in itself. We also need to make sure that the economies of the Forum Island countries are made stronger and more competitive to enable them to take advantage of opportunities that will arise from the outcomes of the PACER Plus negotiations.
Forum Trade Ministers also endorsed plans to hold annual discussions on PACER Plus with non-state actors. We believe these discussions will be important opportunities to engage business groups, community groups and other organisations interested in PACER Plus. These discussions will usefully complement national consultations currently underway.
Forum Island countries are currently recovering from the global economic crisis and moving towards increased involvement in regional and global trade. It is our conviction that a PACER Plus agreement which takes account of the individual circumstances of Forum Island countries will make a substantial contribution to facilitating greater access to markets for goods and services, thereby creating jobs, enhancing the private sector and raising standards of living. We were encouraged to see at Pohnpei that this goal is shared by our ministerial colleagues around the region and we are optimistic that good progress can be made on PACER Plus between now and the next meeting of Forum Trade Ministers scheduled for April next year.
by Misa Telefoni Retzlaff, Samoan Deputy Prime Minister; Simon Crean, Australian Minister for Trade; and Murray McCully, New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs

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