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| Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations | |
|---|---|
| Name | Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations |
| Abbreviation | PACER-Plus |
| Type | trade agreement |
| Signed | 2017 |
| Parties | Australia; New Zealand; Cook Islands; Kiribati; Nauru; Niue; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; Tuvalu |
| Location signed | Suva |
| Languages | English |
Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations is a regional trade and development treaty linking Australia, New Zealand and several Pacific Island countries through commitments on tariffs, services, investment and development assistance. Negotiated in the 2000s and concluded in the 2010s, the treaty reflects intersections among international trade law, regional diplomacy and development policy involving actors such as the World Trade Organization, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Pacific Islands Forum, and national capitals including Canberra and Wellington.
Negotiations for the agreement drew on precedents including the Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and arrangements under the South Pacific Forum and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Key negotiating phases involved delegations from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand), and ministries from Samoa, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, with technical input from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Commonwealth Secretariat. High-level meetings occurred alongside summits such as the Pacific Islands Forum Summit, bilateral talks with United States and China, and regional conferences hosted in Suva and Avarua; public consultations included civil society actors like Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency and trade unions such as the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. Drafting was influenced by jurisprudence from the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and model texts from the ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations negotiating records.
Signatories include Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Non-signatory and observer states that engaged in preparatory talks included Fiji (following suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum), Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea, while external partners such as the European Union, United States, Japan, and China monitored developments. Membership decisions were shaped by domestic politics in capitals like Apia, Honiara, Funafuti, and international advocacy from institutions including the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
The treaty contains commitments on tariff liberalisation, services market access, investment protections, rules of origin, and technical assistance, drawing language similar to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services. Provisions address customs cooperation modelled on practices from the World Customs Organization, intellectual property exceptions reflecting TRIPS flexibilities, and labour safeguards echoing standards promoted by the International Labour Organization. The agreement establishes special and differential treatment mechanisms for least developed participants comparable to frameworks under the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and development financing clauses influenced by Asian Development Bank programs. Chapters on electronic commerce and telecommunications reference interoperability studies by the International Telecommunication Union, while sanitary and phytosanitary measures draw on the Codex Alimentarius and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Empirical assessments used methodologies from the World Bank and UNCTAD to model changes in trade flows, showing modest increases in exports of goods like agriculture and fisheries to Australia and New Zealand and growth in services such as tourism and transport linked to Air New Zealand and regional carriers. Studies compared outcomes with effects observed under the Trans-Pacific Partnership and regional agreements like the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations impact assessments. Analysis highlighted potential gains for export sectors in Samoa and Tonga, investment shifts involving firms such as Woolworths Group (Australia) and New Zealand-owned retailers, and remittance-related dynamics tied to diasporas in Auckland and Sydney. Macroeconomic modelling referenced scenarios from the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank indicating distributional effects across urban and rural constituencies, and trade in fisheries intersected with management regimes of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Implementation structures include committees on trade facilitation, services, and development cooperation, with secretariat support analogous to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank and UNDP. The dispute settlement mechanism mirrors aspects of the WTO arbitration procedures and investor-state concerns raised in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes jurisprudence, establishing panel processes and consultation stages. Governance arrangements provide for periodic review by ministers from Canberra and Wellington and representatives from capitals like Apia and Honiara, with monitoring roles for civil society organisations such as the Pacific Network on Globalisation and labour groups like the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Amendment procedures allow parties to adopt protocols similar to processes under the WTO and the Free Trade Agreement (Australia) mechanisms. Related instruments include bilateral memoranda between Australia–Samoa, New Zealand–Tonga, and development compacts with the Asian Development Bank and New Zealand Aid Programme. Extensions and supplementary arrangements reference lessons from the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the Pacific Islands Forum trade dialogues, and regional integration initiatives such as the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations follow-up studies. External agreements influencing implementation include negotiations with the European Union and technical cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Critiques from academics at institutions such as the University of the South Pacific and NGOs like Oxfam focused on asymmetries between Australia and New Zealand versus smaller island states, concerns over investor-state dispute settlement provisions derived from ICSID practice, and debates about sovereignty similar to disputes in Bougainville autonomy talks. Civil society protests echoed tensions seen in debates around the Trans-Pacific Partnership, while labour organisations raised issues comparable to controversies involving the International Labour Organization standards. Environmental groups referenced fisheries governance conflicts akin to those addressed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and parliamentary debates in Wellington and Canberra scrutinised implementation costs and development conditionalities promoted by the Asian Development Bank.
Category:International trade agreements