ISDS Case Map
Pacific Islands / Pacific Forum
In a surprise move this week, the European Union has moved to suspend negotiations for a new economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the islands of the Pacific, ISLANDS BUSINESS has been told.
The Solomon Islands government says the European Union has suspended negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement between 14 Pacific Island Countries and the EU - 9 years after its EPA was launched in September, 2004.
In July 2013, Pacific Island Country Trade Ministers called on the Pacific Forum Secretariat to give priority to trade and economic cooperation discussions with the United States.
For Gary Juffa -- the Governor of Papua New Guinea's Oro province and one of the region's most outspoken critics of free trade -- neoliberalism is a hard pill to swallow.
Plans for a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement are in jeopardy after the Pacific Island nations accused Europe of failing to respond to their requests and threatened to pull-out if Europe is unable to meet their deadline of the end of this year.
When Pacific trade negotiators sit down later this month with their European Commission counterparts to carve out the finer details of their Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the pressure points would be fishery, market access and services.
Papua New Guinea’s trade Minister, Richard Maru, recently set a cat amongst the pigeons by saying that PNG was not interested in the regional trade negotiations known as PACER-Plus. “We can’t export our taro there, they won’t accept our greens...There’s nothing to be gained from a trade agreement at the moment. ‘We cannot justify the huge amount of resources we expend on such negotiations. They are a complete waste of time.”
Pacific trade ministers have still had no reply to their threat to pull out of long-running negotiations with Europe for an Economic Partnership Agreement.
Pacific nations involved in negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union are being warned that while it’s important negotiations are soon concluded, it’s more important to get the right outcome.
Pacific members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) were urged Tuesday to wrap up talks on a trade deal with the European Union this year.
