Take the pace out of PACER

Australia’s rush to begin negotiations must also take account of “the Fiji paradox”. Fiji is the second largest economy in the islands region after Papua New Guinea, and serves as a major transport, services and communications hub.

Any regional trade agreement without Fiji is unlikely to be worth the paper it’s written on. The Pacific Islands Forum has rightly decided to exclude Fiji from regional trade talks following the abrogation of Fiji’s constitution by the military-backed interim administration in Suva. The PACER-Plus negotiations will only succeed with Fiji as part of the process, which means waiting for the restoration of democracy there.

Framed in the right way, these negotiations could support the Pacific to build on its assets, strengthen its resilience during the global economic recession, and accelerate progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals on health, education and poverty reduction.

Framed the wrong way, a trade deal could exacerbate the problems of poor economic performance, growing economic hardship and conflict for the region’s fragile economies.

It is technically possible to use trade rules to enhance the development prospects for small island nations. But this will only happen with a truly innovative approach. Forcing the pace of negotiations for a standard free trade agreement will only lead to failure and damage to relations with our closest neighbours.

Oxfam has called for a new framework that targets new funding and support for priority sectors in Pacific countries, including small business, agriculture, fisheries, tourism and cultural sectors.

In the report, PACER Plus and its Alternatives, Oxfam shows that there are viable alternative ways of improving trade in the islands region.

One option is to improve on the current non-reciprocal arrangement (the South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement ­ SPARTECA), to create a “SPARTECA Plus” framework. Such a scheme could remove the existing technical barriers to Pacific exports, while retaining the flexibility for Pacific governments to adopt targeted policies to add value to their natural resources, boost exports and better supply their domestic markets

The Brisbane meeting will be a crucial test of whether Australia and New Zealand are prepared to listen to the Pacific’s needs and aspirations, or whether they will push an inappropriate model of development on the Pacific.