Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Trade, Shaheen Ali, announced that the country has turned down the PACER Plus Agreement, which Pacific Island Leaders signed with Australia and New Zealand in Tonga in 2017. He stated that the agreement lacked sufficient flexibility and benefits to justify its potential risks and costs.
During the PACER Plus Plenary Session, Ali noted that with Fiji and Papua New Guinea initiating the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU in 2008, the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ (MFN) clause within PACER was effectively triggered. This set the stage for the negotiations that spanned from 2009 to 2017, with Fiji joining in 2014 following its suspension from the Forum.
Ali emphasized that despite the challenges, Fiji made meaningful contributions to the negotiations, leading to the inclusion of several flexibilities in PACER Plus that might not have been present otherwise.
The Ministry of Trade also announced that Professor Chris Noonan from the University of Auckland will spearhead Fiji’s efforts to re-enter PACER Plus. Ali highlighted that Prof Noonan played a crucial role in the Fiji team during the negotiations of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a trade agreement that includes Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.