Fiji has announced plans to gradually eliminate duties on specific tariff lines for imports from European Union member states as part of its commitment to fully implement the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA). This trade agreement links the European Union with various 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 Trade Ministry, the IEPA is designed to foster trade and development by liberalizing bilateral trade, thereby enhancing Fiji’s integration into the global economy. The European Union has already removed customs duties and quotas on all imports from Fiji. In response, the Fijian government has chosen to phase out duties on certain committed tariff lines for imports from EU member countries.
However, to safeguard food security and support the growth of local value chains, tariffs on specific imports from the EU will remain in place, referred to as the exclusion basket of tariff lines.
The IEPA is expected to facilitate access to cheaper materials for Fijian products and provide a significant boost to the fisheries sector, particularly the tuna industry.
One key feature of the IEPA is the global sourcing provision, which presents a unique concession from the EU. This allows tuna that is caught by foreign vessels but processed in any Pacific IEPA country to be exported to the EU without facing duties or quotas, irrespective of where the fish was caught.
Once these provisions are implemented, Fiji aims to export processed fish to the EU sourced from approved foreign-flagged vessels. The Fijian government hopes to attract more investments in the fisheries sector, striving to mirror the success achieved by Papua New Guinea in exporting to EU member states.
The IEPA was signed by the EU and Fiji in 2009, with the EU commencing provisional application immediately, while Fiji began its application in 2014.