Making sense of globalisation The Pacific Network on Globalisation commissions extensive
research reports on issues that are important to the Pacific. Trade
issues have implications for people working in health and education, working on
gender issues, working to reduce poverty - essentially every sector of civil
society work in the Pacific. Our research is intended to provide churches, NGOs, unions, politicians and other activists with
the knowledge to intervene critically and effectively in trade processes - with
the understanding that such intervention allows people to be involved in the
social and economic planning that so dramatically effects their own
communities. This page contains research materials on trade, aid and globalisation in the Pacific. See Reports and Official Papers for more 'in depth' research commissioned by PANG. See Links for external sites.
The full legal text of the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and ACP countries (which forms a backdrop to the EPA negotiations) is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/development/geographical/cotonou/cotonoudoc_en.cfm Reports Commissioned
by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) and produced by Professor Jane
Kelsey of AucklandUniversity, A People’s Guide to PACER, provides user-friendly
information on the PACER negotiations, including case studies from the Pacific
region on the ways that a new FTA with Australia and NZ will impact local
business and society. This report also covers the Pacific Island Countries
Trade Agreement (PICTA). See: http://www.bilaterals.org/IMG/pdf/A_Peoples_Guide_to_PACER.pdf
Commissioned by
the World Council of Churches, Office in the Pacific, and produced by Professor
Jane Kelsey of AucklandUniversity, A People’s
Guide to the Pacific’s Economic Partnership Agreement, provides a critical
perspective on negotiations for an EPA between the Pacific and the EU pursuant
to the Cotonou Agreement. See: http://www.igtn.org/page/627/1
Oxfam
International released a report in April 2008 entitled Partnership or
Powerplay? How Europe should bring development into its trade deals with
African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries. This report analyses where the
EPA negotiations stand following the initialling of Interim-EPAs by a number of
ACP countries in late 2007, and looks at outstanding issues involved in the
negotiations. Oxfam International points out that the EPAs offered by the EU
are a long way from the stated objectives of the agreements – to stimulate
development in ACP countries – and are actually likely to undermine development in some of the poorest countries on earth.
See: http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/briefingpapers/bp110_EPAs_europe_trade_deals_with_acp_countries_0804
A report commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum
Secretariat exploring the revenue implications of pursuing trade liberalisation
through PICTA/PACER and the EPAs was released in December 2007. This report
finds that for around half of the Pacific Island Countries trade liberalisation
with the EU, Australia
and NZ will lead to losses of government revenue of between 10 and 40 per cent.
Revenue Consequences of Trade Liberalisation in the Pacific Island Countries is
available at: http://www.forumsec.org.fj/_resources/article/files/Revenue%20consequences%20of%20Trade%20Liberalisation.pdf The Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation: Joint
Baseline and Gap Analysis, also released in December 2007, analyses possible
steps towards a “broadbased legal arrangement between Australia, New
Zealand and the Forum Island Countries that would cover trade in goods, trade
in services, investment, other trade related areas as may be agreed, and
related development cooperation activities”. This report is commonly referred
to as the Nathan’s Report (because it was commissioned by the Pacific Islands
Forum Secretariat to Nathans Associates Inc.). This report makes pro-free trade
conclusions, but does raise some reservations about potential losses to the
PICs. See: www.forumsec.org.fj/_resources/article/files/Pacific%20Regional%20Trade%20and%20Economic%20Cooperation_FINAL%20REPORT_December%2020071.pdf
A Social Impact
Assessment of the Economic Partnership Agreement being negotiated between the
European Community and PacificACPStates
was commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. The impact
assessment was undertaken by the Pacific Network on Globalisation, with a final
draft of the report submitted to the Forum Secretariat in March 2008. This
report details some of the potential social impacts of an EPA with the EU for
Pacific states, and outline ways these impacts could be mitigated. The report
draws on research from six countries – Papua New
Guinea, Kiribati,
Republic of Marshall Islands,
Samoa, Solomon
Islands and Fiji. See: http://www.pang.org.fj/doc/EPA_SIA_PANG.pdf Labour Mobility Information on Australia’s plans for a new seasonal workers scheme for Pacific Islanders is available from the Australian Parliamentary Library. These sites contain links to further information, background and arguments regarding a workers scheme. See: A seasonal guest worker program for Australia? (May, 2006) http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RB/2005-06/06rb16.htm and; New Zealand’s seasonal guest worker scheme (May, 2008) http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/BN/2007-08/NZSeasonalWorker.htm#_Toc198095425
Nic Maclellan, an independent researcher and journalist with extensive experience in the Pacific Islands region, has prepared a number of papers regarding a seasonal migration scheme for Pacific Islanders in Australia. His papers outline policy recommendations for ensuring any new workers scheme offers maximum opportunities for development outcomes for Pacific communities, and ensuring that seasonal workers are not exploited. For his latest paper, Workers for All Seasons? Issues from New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) program, see: http://www.apo.org.au/crosspost_linkboard/items/209447-upload-00001.pdf
Peter Mares, Objection to Pacific seasonal work programs in rural Australia, Public Policy, v.2(1), 2007, pp. 68–87. Peter Mares has been a long-time advocate for a seasonal guest-worker scheme in Australia and in this article he examines different objections that have been put forward against the idea. Available here: http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/TranslateWIPILink.aspx?Folder=jrnart&Criteria=CITATION_ID:I65P6;
National Farmers’ Federation, Workforce from Abroad Employment Scheme, National Farmers’ Federation Ltd., 2008. This report outlines areas of labour shortage in the agricultural sector and outlines a possible model for a guest-worker program in Australia. Available at: http://www.nff.org.au/policy/workplace.html
Independent Task Force, Engaging our Neighbours: Towards a new relationship between Australia and the Pacific Islands, report for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, ASPI, Canberra, 2008. This report recommends a number of different strategies for Australia to engage with Pacific Island nations including increased labour mobility. Available at: www.aspi.org.au/publications/publication_details.aspx?ContentID=157&pubtype=10
Fair Trade and FTAs Information on bilateral free trade agreements being negotiated across the globe is available at bilaterals.org. Billed as ‘everything that isn’t happening at the WTO’, bilaterals.org maintains a very large library of information on bilateral trade negotiations (including a good section on PICTA/PACER/EPA and the Pacific). Information is ‘leaked’ to bilaterals.org about FTA negotiations, and there have been Pacific examples. See: www.bilaterals.org
The South Centre, ‘an Intergovernmental Policy Think Tank for Developing Countries’, provides good technical briefing papers and general information regarding trade negotiations. These papers are geared to be received by policy makers, and a number of them cover the EPA negotiations currently facing the Pacific. See: www.southcentre.org/index.php
The Third World Network is a huge clearinghouse of good information regarding trade negotiations – from a developing country perspective. Third World Network focuses both on bilateral trade negotiations and on movements at the WTO concerning developing countries. See: http://www.twnside.org.sg/
