improved

SPARTECA rules improved

Australia and New Zealand have relaxed their country-of origin requirements for goods received from Forum Island countries under the terms of the SPARTECA agreement.

Previously goods exported from Forum countries to Aus tralia had to include a minimum of 50 per cent of Australian or Forum country content. The same rule applied to goods sent to New Zealand. This meant that articles acceptable to Aus tralia probably could not meet New Zealand requirements, and vice versa.

Now, however, both impor ting countries will accept 50 per cent minimum content of Forum country, or either Aus tralian or New Zealand origin

and, as before, 50 per cent coming from anywhere else.

Mr John Cruikshank, execu tive officer of the Pacific Islands Association of Chambers of Commerce, has welcomed the change, which was agreed at the Nauru meeting in June of the Regional Committee on Trade. He said it would allow more efficient sourcing of materials from either Australia or New Zealand, depending on the choice for price, suitability, and delivery. Island manu facturers would now not have to make individual production runs for the two markets, which would lead to economies of scale, and perhaps also new products because materials from both Australia and New Zealand could now be mixed.