Fiji signs EPA with European Union

Fiji has signed a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). This ‘goods only’ agreement gives immediate duty-free access for the country’s products to the EU’s 27-member state market. To be able to take advantage of these new market openings, the agreement also deepens cooperation in areas such as animal and plant health to enable Fiji to meet EU import standards.

Fiji and Papua New Guinea initialled an EPA in tandem November 2007 with provisional implementation since 1 January 2008. Papua New Guinea signed the EPA in July 2009.

Under the agreement, all imports from Fiji and Papua New Guinea have duty and quota free access to the European Union market. Fiji is to remove customs duties on 87 per cent of its imports from the EU over the next 15 years whereas Papua New Guinea agreed to liberalise 88 per cent of its market to EU goods in the initial year of the agreement.

Other Pacific countries with lower levels of trade in goods with the EU are still reluctant to enter into any talks on a regional EPA. They are; Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, The Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palua and Tonga. Timor Leste has observer status in the negotiations.

According to EU statistics, trade between the EU and Pacific ACP countries totalled €1bn in 2008. The most important Pacific exports to the EU are animal and vegetable oils, sugar, coffee, tea and spices and copper. The EU’s main exports are mechanical machinery, electrical machinery, vehicles and oil. Together, Fiji and Papua New Guinea account for 83 per cent of all EU-Pacific trade.

For the state of play on EPA talks in other ACP regions, visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/acp/index_en.htm