What is PACER Plus?

February 19, 2021

by Stefan Prodan

Intro

PACER Plus is a trade and development agreement that aims to raise living standards, create jobs and increase regional and global trade in Pacific Island countries, while also lowering barriers and providing greater certainty for New Zealand businesses. The Agreement entered into force on 13 December 2020.

For countries involved, PACER Plus will:

Present new exporting opportunities
Attract increased investment
Provide more trade-related development assistance
Facilitate greater people movement across the region.

Countries involved

Eleven Pacific Island Forum (PIF) members have signed PACER Plus, so far, but the hope is all PIF will join in the future.

Australia
Cook Islands
Kiribati
Nauru
New Zealand
Niue
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

Goods

On entry-into-force of the Agreement, Australia and New Zealand bound all tariffs on all Pacific island countries goods imports at zero, while Pacific island countries have committed to liberalise tariffs.
PACER Plus will support Pacific island countries to modernise their customs processes/procedures, and sanitary/phytosanitary capabilities, in turn reducing the cost of importing and exporting and increasing opportunities for intra-Pacific island country and interregional trade. PACER Plus will also apply regulations, standards or procedures based on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

People

PACER Plus will facilitate the cross-border movement of skilled workers through targeted commitments on temporary entry and stay, of specific service suppliers. In keeping with global FTA practice, PACER Plus does not include treaty-level commitments on unskilled and semiskilled workers. Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island countries have agreed on a separate non-binding Labour Mobility Arrangement establishing a regional framework to enhance and promote labour mobility cooperation, including through the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting.

So what does that mean for you?

If you work or trade in the Pacific this means:
More consistent and transparent trading rules throughout the region on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and customs procedures
More liberal and product-specific rules of origin
A more stable and predictable environment for foreign investment
Greater certainty around tariffs for exporters provided through transparency requirements and online trade portals
A more mobile labour force in the region under the Labour Mobility Arrangement.
PACER Plus will facilitate the cross-border movement of skilled workers through targeted commitments on temporary entry and stay, of specific service suppliers. The MNP fact sheet provides further information.

Overall, this means more transparency for buyers and easier access to markets for sellers.

For more detail explore the links below