Fiji is set to eliminate customs duties on certain imports from European Union member states as part of its commitment to fully implement the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA), a trade agreement between the EU and several Pacific nations. The announcement was made in Suva by Manoa Kamikamica, Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister for Trade, MSME, and Communications, alongside Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s executive vice president and Commissioner for Trade.
According to the Fijian Trade Ministry, the IEPA aims to facilitate bilateral trade and promote sustainable development while integrating Fiji into the global economy. The EU has already removed customs duties and quotas on all imports from Fiji, and now Fiji will also phase out duties on agreed tariff lines from EU member states. Certain tariffs will still be maintained to safeguard Fijian food security and to support domestic value chains, referred to as the exclusion basket of tariff lines.
The IEPA is expected to benefit Fiji by providing cheaper inputs for locally made products and enhancing the fisheries sector, particularly the tuna industry. The agreement includes a unique global sourcing provision that offers favorable rules of origin for processed fisheries products heading to the EU market. This provision allows fish caught by foreign vessels, if processed in any Pacific IEPA state, to be exported to the EU without duties or quotas, regardless of the catch location.
Fiji aims to encourage more investment in the fisheries sector, drawing inspiration from the success of Papua New Guinea, another IEPA partner. The IEPA was signed in 2009, and while the EU implemented it immediately, Fiji began its application in 2014.