boost Melanesian trade

Tax-free list may soon boost Melanesian trade

By Patrick Decloitre

Vanuatu and Fiji trade officials late April agreed on a common list of products to be exchanged later this year under a zero rate tariff clause. The three-day bilat eral talks ended a series of meetings initiated sixteen months ago between the two countries to boost exchange within the South Pacific neighbours.

Citing new global trade rules imposed by the World Trade Organisation, it was important for private sectors in the region to “face the challenges fur ther liberalisation will impose on us”, the trade officials said in a joint release. For Fiji, it’s part of our policy to consolidate trade links with South Pacific

Forum countries. We believe this a priority to establish a viable South Pacific before we can attract foreign investors in this region”, Kesaia Tuisawau, Fiji’s foreign and trade ministry deputy permanent sec retary, said. Both countries agreed on a list of 21 products on each side to benefit from preferential conditions, including no tariff and facilitation of customs and quarantine formalities. Fiji signed similar arrange ments with Tonga and Papua New Guinea, Tuisawau, who headed the three-man Fiji delegation in Vanuatu, added.

“With Tonga, it’s almost all agricultural and fisheries products, with PNG it’s more manufactured goods from both sides”.

Under the agreement, which identifies 21 products for each country, Vanuatu would export beef, goat and pork meat, sweet corn, beans, ginger, copra, kava,

cocoa to Fiji. In return, Fiji would sell manufactured and processed goods, such as canned fish, cement, footwear, garments into Vanuatu.“lt’s a common list, compa nies in either country can trade on any of the 42 products,” Tuisawau said.

However, there are provisions for fine tuning if any of the selected products dam ages an existing growing industry on either side. “We’ve tried to avoid products where industries are being protected. Fiji had to eliminate corned beef, soap because this is an infant industry in Vanuatu.” “And if a country feels its local industry is being negatively impacted and affected, we can consult one another and say ‘hey, stop for a while’.”

The five-year agreement will be signed at the next Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) summit in Suva (Fiji) this month, and fully operational by September, Tuisawau predicts.

On a similar note, Fiji is currently nego tiating another list of products under an MSG preferential trade agreement, which includes Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia’s FLNKS party. ■