Ministers must consider alternatives to PACER Plus (October 23)
PANG prepared a Briefing Paper for Pacific Island Trade Ministers in the lead up to their Special Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Brisbane (October 23/24). That Briefing Paper outlines the case for viable alternatives to PACER-Plus – including giving an overview of improvements that could be made to existing regional trade agreements to help the Pacific island countries take advantage of trading opportunities thy have with Australia and New Zealand. That paper, New trading arrangements with Australia and New Zealand: What options for development?, is available now. See here for a two page Summary Document containing key recommendations.

PANG calls for alternatives to PACER-Plus to be put on the table (October 19)
This week, Pacific Island Trade Ministers meet with their counterparts from Australia and New Zealand to discuss the next step in regards to the PACER-Plus discussions. It is expected that the Trade Ministers will discuss the scope and coverage of PACER-Plus negotiations, and may even decide on a timeline for the completion of negotiations. PANG argues that a process of national consultations (with private sector and civil society stakeholders) is the appropriate place to decide if, when, and how they will negotiate a new trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand. Those consultations must be held before the content of PACER-Plus negotiations are decided, and must include all options for a new agreement. See here for a Feature Story on the issue (that appeared in the Solomon Star and the Samoa Observer). 

PACER-Plus negotiations launched in Cairns: Forum leaders ignore concerns to fast-track trade negotiations (August 10)
At the 40^th Pacific Island Forum Leaders’ Meeting, held in Cairns (August 5-6) Pacific Leaders announced that negotiations for a new trade agreement between Australia , New Zealand and the Pacific island countries (PACER-Plus) would be launched “forthwith”.
This announcement came as somewhat of a surprise, as the Pacific island countries (represented by the Pacific’s lead spokesperson on PACER-Plus, the Solomon Islands Trade Minister William Hoamae) had earlier this year said that PACER-Plus negotiations should not be launched until 2013.
Earlier in the week (of the Forum Leader’s meeting) Leaders from the Island nations told Australian media they were not ready to begin negotiations for a new deal with Australia and New Zealand .
For the full story, see here.

Implications of Fiji ’s exclusion from PACER-Plus discussions (July 1, 2009)
Fiji was excluded from the recent Pacific Forum Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Apia, Samoa (June 15-18).
PANG has commissioned a legal opinion on the exclusion of Fiji from decision-making processes regarding PACER (given that Fiji is a signatory to PACER). That legal opinion, provided by Auckland Law Professor Jane Kelsey, finds that “it is not lawful for the Parties to PACER other than Fiji to convene for their annual review, or to make a decision to launch negotiations under PACER, in the absence of the Government of Fiji”.
PANG Coordinator Maureen Penjueli said Fiji ’s exclusion from the decision to launch PACER-Plus negotiations, called that decision into question. She also said it wouldn’t make sense to pursue regional free trade negotiations without Fiji . “ Fiji is the second largest Island economy, and a ‘hub economy’ for many countries in the region,” said Ms Penjueli. “The sensible thing to do, would be to defer PACER-Plus negotiations until such a time as Fiji is able to participate.”
The Fiji Government has issued a media statement (June 20) explaining that "the decision to exclude Fiji from discussions under PACER is a violation of her rights under the treaty [PACER]" and that "any decision reached by Forum members in the absence of Fiji on PACER are legally challengable under the principle of consensus espoused by the treaty and the Pacific Islands Forum in general".
PANG's legal opinion; The Legality of Excluding Fiji from PACER-Plus discussions is available now.
Fiji ’s Government Statement on Regional Trade Meetingsis also available here.

Trade increase figures called into question (June 25, 2009)
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) released a report in mid-2008 entitled Research study on the Benefits, Challenges and Ways Forward for PACER-Plus. That study was presented to Pacific Trade Ministers during the 2008 Forum Trade Ministers’ Meeting in the Rarotonga.
Since that time Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean, and other Australian government representatives, have widely cited the report as proof that trade will increase significantly under PACER-Plus – quoting a projected increase in trade of 30%. Crean has not indicated in which direction that increase in trade may be, knowing full well that most of the increase will be in exports of Australian and NZ goods.
PANG commissioned New Zealand-based academic Dr Bill Rosenberg to prepare an analysis of how this study arrived at the much-cited figure of a 30% increase in trade. That analysis finds that many of the policy recommendations of the AusAID report are difficult to accept, given that the theoretical assumptions used to project welfare gains from a PACER-Plus agreement are not “likely to be true of for most or all of the Pacific Island Countries”. Rosenberg’s paper Notes on Appendix 1: A Quantitative Analysis of Potential Benefit and Cost of a PACER-Plus Agreement is available now.

What's the hurry?: Civil society from across the region gather in Apia to issue concerns
about PACER-Plus to Pacific Trade Ministers - June 2009
(L-R: Fiu Elisara, Maureen Penjueli, Jane Kelsey, Adam Wolfenden and Nynette Sass)

Pacific civil society issues a joint statement to Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Apia, Samoa (June 16, 2009)
Pacific civil society organisations, church groups, trade unions and women’s organisations from across seven Pacific Island countries issued a joint statement to Pacific Trade Ministers meeting in Apia, Samoa, for the 2009 Forum Trade Ministers’ Meeting. The joint statement called on Pacific Ministers to put the development priorities of the Pacific ahead of Australian and New Zealand ’s political timelines. The statement, which lists nine key demands, called on Pacific Ministers to resist pressure from Australia and New Zealand to launch PACER-Plus negotiations early, to ensure national consultations and research will be undertaken well before any PACER-Plus negotiations begin, and to ensure the independence of a regional office to assist the Pacific during negotiations (the Office of the Chief Trade Advisor). The 2009 Statement to Pacific Island Forum Trade Ministers regarding deliberations on potential PACER-Plus negotiationsis available now.

Australia and New Zealand call emergency meeting to fast-track free trade deal (May 6, 2009)
The New Zealand government has invited Pacific island Trade Ministers to a last-minute informal meeting in Auckland this weekend. The meeting has been called one week before Pacific trade officials are due to meet their Australian and NZ counterparts in Vanuatu to discuss a “road map” for a new free trade deal (PACER-Plus).
The Australian and NZ Trade Ministers are particularly unhappy with a proposed timeline for negotiations that has been prepared by Pacific trade officials and will this weekend seek to gain a ‘ministerial mandate’ for their own fast tracked negotiating schedule. See the full story here: Australia and New Zealand call emergency meeting to fast-track Pacific free trade deal

10 Reasons to Challenge PACER-Plus (April 27, 2009)
Pacific civil society organisations, church groups and trade unions have long held concerns that a free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand (PACER-Plus) will have implications for the sovereign authority and responsibilities of independent Pacific nations, the economic and social wellbeing of Pacific peoples, and our democratic right to determine our own future.
PANG has prepared a fact-sheet ( 10 Reasons to Challenge PACER-Plus) which outlines some of those concerns, and reviews some of the likely implications of PACER-Plus – which include dramatic losses in government revenue, an undermining of public services, potential threats to indigenous land-rights, business closures and job losses. For a full copy of the fact sheet, see here.

Why a free trade agreement with our big brothers could hurt us (April 8, 2009)
Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean and Parliamentary Secretary for AID, Bob McMullan, both toured the region in early April – to try to convince governments in the region that PACER-Plus will help Pacific countries benefit from international trade. Crean and McMullan visited Vanuatu , the Solomon Islands , Samoa and Tonga . PANG holds concerns that a free trade agreement with Australia and NZ would have serious costs for the islands (including government revenue losses, business closures, increased taxes for the poor, job losses, and an undermining of essential services). PANG released a media piece outlining these concerns to coincide with the Australian regional tour. The story was published in the Solomon Star and the Samoa Observer. See here for the full story.

Putting business interests ahead of development: Senior Pacific trade official speaks out (March 22, 2009)
One of the Pacific’s most experienced trade officials has explained that the region stands to lose out under negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union and for a free trade agreement with Australia and NZ. Dr Roman Grynberg, who left his position as Director of Economic Governance at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat during March told regional media that both the EU, and Australia and NZ, were placing their own business interests ahead of development in the region. Dr Grynberg, who was also the Pacific’s Chief EPA Technical Negotiator, released a series of weekly editorials that were published around the Pacific in March. He explained that in its EPA negotiations, the EU was pursuing “the most mercantilist agenda that Europe has pursued with developing countries since the heyday of colonialism” and that “negotiation on substantive issues with small and remote islands was never really on the EU agenda. There was an EU template and the Pacific had to fit.”

Regarding negotiations with Australia and NZ, Dr Grynberg explained that “anyone naive enough to believe the words of Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean that PACER will be about ‘development and regional integration’ would do well to remember that Australian and New Zealand national commercial interests don’t change just because there is a new government”.

To read Dr Grynberg’s comments regarding the Pacific’s EPA negotiations, see here.

To read Dr Grynberg’s comments regarding PACER-Plus negotiations with Australia and NZ, see here.

PANG - Standing up for the Pacific :
(L-R: Ekari Naqaugaga , Lice Cokanisiga and Kylie Marks)

Australia and NZ bulldoze ahead on PACER-Plus (February 4, 2009)
Australia and NZ are pushing hard for negotiations under PACER-Plus to begin in mid 2009 – assuring the region that the deal will be a ‘development’ deal for the region. However, officials from both countries have pursued aggressive strategies (mainly behind closed doors) to stack the deck in their favour even before negotiations even start. At the 2008 Forum Trade Ministers’ Meeting, Australian officials (and allies from NZ, Tonga and Nauru ) pushed for negotiations under PACER-Plus to begin in August 2009. Most PIC trade ministers resisted this however, and agreements to begin negotiations were not secured. Some officials present at that meeting reported bullying tactics by Australian officials and explicit threats to remove key Forum Secretariat staff.Australian and NZ officials took their case to the 2008 Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Niue, where favourable language was secured, and Forum leaders directed trade officials to “formulate a detailed road map on PACER Plus, with the view to Leaders agreeing at the 2009 Forum to the commencement of negotiations”.
Throughout 2008 PIC trade officials met with their Australian and NZ counterparts in a series of “informal” meetings to discuss issues of timing, modality and coverage of potential negotiations. These meetings – which have now turned to establishing a “roadmap” on PACER-Plus – have been held in secret, and Pacific trade officials have reported that they amount to pressure to begin PACER-Plus negotiations before PICs are ready.
Australia and NZ continue to resist Pacific proposals for the establishment of an Office of the Chief Trade Advisor (CTA) to help establish regional Pacific negotiating positions and undertake research as to the implications of PACER-Plus. Instead, Australia has offered to fund national-level research and train national-level officials on issues relating to PACER-Plus. This will have the effect of reducing the region’s critical analysis and negotiating power.
PANG has prepared an article for February edition of Islands Business magazine covering these, and other, issues. That article is available here.
The next ‘informal’ meeting of trade officials from Australia , NZ and the PICs to discuss PACER-Plus will be held in Adelaide (February 16-18).

Tread Carefully: PANG policy submission on PICTA trade in services (January 30, 2009)
Pacific Island Country trade ministries held consultations with government and private sector stakeholders in late 2008 and January 2009 regarding PICTA trade in services – with a view to finalising each country’s offers and requests by the end of January.
PANG prepared a submission for the Fiji Ministry of Trade outlining a series of concerns regarding the extension of PICTA to include trade in services. A full copy of Tread Carefully: Implications of opening Fiji service sectors to foreign competition under PICTA is available here.

Seasons greetings from PANG (December 19, 2008)
PANG would like to extend a warm seasons’ greeting to all our partner organisations, friends, and campaigners for economic justice and sustainable development in the Pacific. It has been great to work with warm-hearted, committed stakeholders and activists from across our Pacific countries and globally throughout 2008, and we look forward to working together again in 2009. May your holiday season be a blessed one.
It’s been a big year in the PANG office, with considerable changes taking place. Coordinator Roshni Sami moved on to new opportunities in March, and Maureen Penjueli stepped in to head the organisation. Maureen is a well-known figure in the region, bringing much-welcomed energy and campaigning experience to PANG. Maureen has worked previously with Greenpeace Pacific, and with the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific International (FSPI).
In October, PANG was joined by a new trade research officer, Kylie Marks, who joins the organisation for 12 months to help strengthen PANG’s research capacity. Kylie is an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development, who has previously worked on issues relating to trade and human rights with the Diplomacy Training Program (based at the University of New South Wales, Sydney).
A big thank you should be extended to members of the PANG steering committee for their support in 2008, and a special thank you for Connie Soro from KAIROS for the continued support for the work that PANG undertakes in the Pacific.

Warm holiday greetings from the PANG office :
(L-R: Ilisapeci Petueli, Wesley Morgan, Maureen Penjueli and Kylie Marks)

PANG in Paris: The future of relations with Europe (December 4, 2008)
PANG Coordinator Maureen Penjueli traveled to Paris in early December to take part in a seminar to review the Pacific’s ongoing trade and development agreement with the European Union.
The seminar The Future of the Cotonou Agreement, gathered over 60 participants from NGOs across African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to meet with counterparts from European-based NGOs. Participants discussed elements of a mid-term review of the EU-ACP Cotonou Review that is due by 2010. ACP countries need to notify the EU of their negotiating positions for the mid-term review by February 2009. Main areas of discussion included: budget support, governance, regional integration and the Economic Partnership Agreements. A copy of the final declaration can be found at http://www.concordeurope.org/

EU Parliamentarian says Pacific EPA must be changed (November 24-28, 2008)
The Member of the European Union responsible for reporting on negotiations for an EPA between the EU and the Pacific, Glyn Ford, has told members of the European Parliament, and elected representatives from across 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries that he will recommend voting “no” to PNG and Fiji’s interim EPAs unless they are changed.
PANG Coordinator Maureen Penjueli and Communications Officer Wesley Morgan both attended the 16th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Port Moresby from November 24-28.The ongoing EPA negotiations were the single biggest topic of discussion at the Assembly, and the meeting represented a rare opportunity to raise concerns about the Pacific’s EPA negotiations in a major public forum.PANG helped to organise a well attended press conference on day one of the Assembly and an NGO ‘side event’ on day three.
Coordinator Maureen Penjueli met with MEP Glyn Ford to raise concerns that Pacific civil society and Pacific trade ministers hold regarding the EPA negotiations. This proved to be a fruitful meeting, with Mr Ford taking a number of PANG’s concerns on board and asking some tough questions of the European Commission during the Assembly.
PANG is grateful to Oxfam NOVIB and CONCORD for their support in attending the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. A special thank you goes to Greenpeace in Port Moresby and members of the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum for all of their help and warm hospitality during PANG’s stay.

See here for Press Release put out by PANG during the Assembly calling on the EU to offer the region alternatives in the EPA negotiations.
See here for a Press Release outlining Glyn Ford’s call for the Pacific EPA’s to be changed.
See here for PANG’s Policy Briefing prepared for the Assembly entitled The EU-PACP Economic Partnership Agreement: Time for a new approach.

Partnerships in Papua New Guinea :
PANG staff with leaders from the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum, Greenpeace Pacific and Oxfam NZ.

PANG meets with Pacific trade union leaders (November 12-15, 2008)
During November PANG was invited to present to trade union leaders from around the Pacific as part of a conference entitled Globalisation and Workers’ Rights and Employment in the Pacific: the role of trade unions and young workers. The meeting, hosted by the South Pacific and Oceanic Council of Trade Unions (SPOCTU) was held on November 12-15 in Nadi, Fiji .
PANG Coordinator Maureen Penjueli, and Communications Officer Wesley Morgan, delivered presentations on trade issues in the Pacific including PICTA, the EPA and PACER-Plus, with a particular focus on their potential impacts for youth employment in the region. Meeting participants heard how free trade agreements like the EPA with the EU and PACER-Plus with Aust/NZ would undermine the policy space available to Pacific governments to stimulate and protect employment. Participants were also updated on issues relating to labour mobility and Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Schemes in Australia and NZ.

Taking a hard look at free trade in the Pacific :
Maureen Penjueli (R) presented to Pacific trade union leaders in mid-November

Time to listen to the region: PANG responds to the European Commission (October 28, 2008)
In late October the European Union (Delegation for the Pacific) held a press conference in Suva, Fiji , to present arguments as to why Pacific countries should sign a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. The press conference followed a meeting of Pacific ACP Trade Ministers in Nadi in mid October, where it was decided that Pacific ACP states would continue to negotiate with the EU as a regional bloc.
The EU is clearly beginning to feel frustrated with the approach taken by Pacific Trade Ministers, who are insisting on revisiting some of the contentious issues contained in the interim-EPAs initialed by PNG and Fiji in late 2007 and have signaled that PACP states have no wish to conclude a comprehensive EPA (containing new rules on services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement etc.) at this time. Outlining its position, the EU issued a press release entitled “Our say: The EU speaks out on Economic Partnership Agreements”. That press release is available here. At the press conference, European officials singled out the Pacific Network on Globalisation as a key critic of the EPA, highlighting PANG’s concerns about anti-development elements of the proposed free trade deal.
PANG took the opportunity to respond to the EU with an article outlining concerns held by Pacific Trade Ministers, and Pacific civil society, and calling on the EU to listen to voices from the region and respect the decisions of Pacific leaders. That article, entitled “Time to listen to the region” was published widely across the Pacific, and is available here.

Building trade capacity in Papua New Guinea (September 22-23, 2008)
In late September, PANG Coordinator Maureen Penjueli traveled to Port Moresby to help facilitate a workshop on trade liberalisation in the Pacific (and implications for PNG) for PNG non-state actors. Held over two days (september 22-23) the workshop was facilitated by PANG, Oxfam NZ, and the South Pacific and Oceanic Council of Trade Unions (SPOCTU). Delegations from the PNG Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat also gave presentations to the workshop. Attendance was broad, with nearly 50 participants attending from unions, NGOs, media, universities, businesses and private sector organisations. The PNG Civil Society Organisations' Statement on Trade - Port Moresby, 22nd-23rd September, 2008, is available on request.

Pacific civil society organisations, unions and churches issue joint statement on trade justice (August 22, 2008)
Pacific civil society organisations (CSOs) met in Auckland NZ in mid-August to discuss issues relating to a new free trade agreement (FTA) with the Australia and NZ under the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER).
The meeting was held as part of the 2008 annual Pacific CSO Forum – hosted by the Pacific Island Association of Non-Government Organisations (PIANGO) – in the lead-up to the 2008 Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting in Niue.
Meeting participants issued a Pacific Civil Society Organisations Statement on Trade Justice listing key demands in relation to any FTA negotiations under PACER.
Fei Tevi, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches said trade could help to promote development, but he said Australia and NZ had only one model of trade for the Pacific in mind. “That model, of a new World Trade Organisation compatible FTA with Australia and NZ could potentially be a disaster for the Pacific, said Mr Tevi. “Even supporters of a new FTA acknowledge there will be high costs – like job losses and reductions in government revenue.
“This joint statement is calling on our leaders to ensure that there are alternatives and that trade arrangements with Australia and NZ should be based on justice and should enhance social development in the Pacific.”
The Pacific Civil Society Statement on Trade Justice was endorsed by the following organisations: Pacific Island Association of NGOs, Pacific Conference of Churches, Pacific Network on Globalisation, South Pacific and Oceanic Council of Trade Unions, Oxfam New Zealand, Vanuatu Association of NGOs, O Le Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (Samoa), Samoa Umbrella for NGOs (SUNGO), Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, PACFAW, Fiji Council of Social Services, Tuvalu Association of NGOs (TANGO), Federated States of Micronesia Alliance of NGOs (FANGO), and the Development Resource Centre (NZ).
See Pacific Civil Society Statement on Trade Justice for full statement.
See here for accompanying press release.

"A new World Trade Organisation compatible FTA with Australia and NZ could potentially
be a disaster for the Pacific... trade arrangements with Australia and NZ should be
based on justice and should enhance social development in the Pacific."
- Fei Tevi, General Secretary,
Pacific Conference of Churches

Making Waves – PANG releases report on free trade negotiations facing the Pacific (August 19, 2008)
The Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) has prepared a report on the major free trade agreements facing the Pacific Island Countries.
Making Waves: Opportunities for Reclaiming Development in the Pacific (Informing civil society responses to the free trade agenda) was prepared for the 2008 Annual Pacific Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Forum, held in Auckland NZ, August 12-14.
Making Waves was prepared by Maureen Penjueli, Coordinator, PANG, and Wesley Morgan, Communications Officer, PANG. The report was prepared in collaboration with Nick Braxton, Advocacy and Research Officer, Oxfam New Zealand, and Professor Jane Kelsey, Professor of Law, Auckland University.
See: Making Waves for full PDF of the report.

Australia bullies Pacific trade ministers to try and rush FTA process (August 4, 2008)
Australian trade officials used the Pacific Forum Trade Ministers' meeting in the Cook Islands (June 22, 2008) to try to pressure Pacific trade ministers to push ahead with free trade negotiations, despite the fact the Pacific is in no way ready for those negotiations, and is still negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU.
Australian officials were hoping for a ‘heads of agreement’ with Pacific ministers – outlining what areas would be included under any FTA negotiations, and formalising the negotiating process – but this was vigorously resisted by Pacific trade ministers.
Australia and NZ rejected Pacific proposals for the establishment of a regional trade negotiating team to engage in free trade negotiations under PACER-Plus – offering instead to support training of trade officials from each Pacific country.
PANG is concerned that while negotiations haven’t even begun, the Australians are splitting the region, by refusing to support a regional negotiating office, and by holding out carrots – like new workers’ schemes – to gain support from individual Pacific countries.
“It would be unfortunate if Australia and NZ were to use their position as key aid donor countries for the region, to secure their own trade interests in any FTA negotiations,” said PANG Coordinator Maureen Penjueli.
See here for PANG Press Release on Forum Trade Ministers’ Meeting, which was disseminated widely in Pacific media.

A flawed approach? Questioning the place of labour mobility in free trade agreements (August 4, 2008)
“Under pressure to sign on to new free trade agreements, Pacific Island governments interested in securing positive outcomes for their peoples see deals on labour mobility as potential development gains… But is this the right approach? And what are the potential costs?...”
PANG prepared an in-depth article for the August edition of the Island Business magazine, on labour mobility and free trade agreements. That article, which argues for separating labour mobility discussions from FTA discussions, is now available here.

Call for moratorium on PICTA services negotiations (July 25, 2008)
In light of serious deficiencies in public consultation and Government preparedness around the region, PANG is calling for a moratorium on Service sector negotiations as part of the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA). No social impact assessments have been completed, nor have any regulatory reviews, and trade officials have admitted privately that they don’t understand the implications sufficiently to conclude negotiations at this stage. Nevertheless, negotiations continue with a view towards Pacific Island Countries listing four service sectors for liberalisation under PICTA by October 2008.PANG is calling for an immediate moratorium on the PICTA services negotiations until appropriate social impact assessments, and regulatory reviews, have been completed. More genuine consultation with industry and civil society groups on including services under PICTA is also needed.
See here for a PANG Press Release on the call for a moratorium, which was disseminated widely in Pacific media.

PANG facilitates regional trade union seminar on free trade in the Pacific (June 28, 2008)
This month PANG worked with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to facilitate a Pacific trade union seminar on Free Trade, Decent Work and Social Development in the Pacific – Trade union responses to the EU-ACP EPA, PICTA and PACER. Held in Nadi from June 24-26, the conference saw trade unionists from across the region discuss the multiple free trade agreements facing the Islands, their implications for working people, and appropriate trade union responses. PANG prepared an extensive background paper for conference participants, providing up-to-date information on each FTA facing the region, and providing suggestions for union responses to the move towards free trade in the region. Auckland University’s Professor Jane Kelsey and Oxfam NZ Advocacy and Research Officer Nick Braxton assisted in preparing the background paper and presentations during the seminar. The seminar background paper is available here.

"I think governments have not thought through the consequences of joining a free trade area.
We hear all this talk of efficiency and economies of scale. But the reality is, small companies
will be forced out once the big players come to town. Governments have not worked out
an alternative plan on how to reemploy people if factories close and people are left
without jobs. What will happen, is that the jobless will march on the streets and
local business owners will be complaining that they are being squeezed out of
the market by foreign companies."

- Dr Wadan Narsey, Economics Professor
University of the South Pacific

EU responds to Pacific civil society concerns and questions regarding the EPA negotiations (June 25, 2008)
A number of Pacific civil society organizations (CSOs) attended an information seminar on the ongoing negotiations for a new EPA between the EU and the Pacific Island Countries, in April this year. At that seminar, held in Madang, PNG, PANG joined other CSOs to present a list of key concerns and questions regarding the EPA negotiations and their implications for the Pacific. Those questions were submitted in writing, and two months later, the European Commission has issued a formal response. See here for the concerns and questions, and the EC’s response.

Trading away our health? New free trade agreement with the EU may undermine access to medicine in the Pacific (May 11, 2008)
The European Union is seeking stronger intellectual property (IP) rights laws in the Pacific region through a new free trade agreement (to be called an Economic Partnership Agreement). Various studies have indicated that the new rules on intellectual property proposed by the EU will offer no gains in areas of interest to the Pacific (such as the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources), but will advance the commercial interests of EU corporations. The proposed rules on intellectual property would restrict access to medicine, access to educational material, access to seeds used in traditional farming, and place restrictions on technology transfer, including ready access to inputs important for development, like new software, machinery, herbicides and pesticides etc. Some key papers on the EU’s proposed changes to intellectual property can be found below:

Trading Away Our Rights? Free Trade and Human Rights in the Pacific
This paper, from the Pacific Network on Globalisation, explains how the EU’s proposed changes to intellectual property will undermine access to medicine in the Pacific – in contravention of the human rights obligations of EU member states.

An Analysis of the EC Non-Paper on the Objectives and Possible Elements of an IP section in the EC-Pacific EPA.
This paper, from the Catholic agency for Overseas Development and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, details the implications of the EU’s proposed changes to IP law for the Pacific Island countries. The author concludes that “it is strongly recommended that Pacific countries do not agree to the inclusion of an IP section in the EC-Pacific EPA.

Intellectual Property in the European Union Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries.
This paper, from the Centre for International Environmental Law, details the implications of the EU’s proposed changes to IP law for Pacific and African countries following the signing of a comprehensive EPA between the Caribbean countries and the EU in late 2007.

Pacific Civil Society issues Joint Statement following Seminar on EPA negotiations. (April 30, 2008)
Following the Seminar on the Pacific-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, held in Madang, Papua New Guinea , civil society representatives at the Seminar issued a joint statement covering key concerns regarding ongoing EPA negotiations. Civil society representatives were concerned that a.) The EPAs will reduce government revenue in the Pacific, b.) The EPAs will undermine the sovereignty of Pacific peoples and governments, c.) The EPAs will harm development in Pacific countries, and d.) The EPAs will reduce the ability of Pacific governments to meet their human rights obligations to their peoples. This joint statement is endorsed by the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations, the Pacific Network on Globalisation, the Pacific Concerns Resource Centre, the Vanuatu Association of Non-Government Organisations, the National Council of Women – Fiji , and the Fiji Chamber of Commerce. Read the full statement here.

Pacific Civil Society takes concerns directly to EU ambassadors and trade negotiators. (April 28-29, 2008)
PANG joined other national and regional civil society organisations in Madang, Papua New Guinea , this week at a seminar on the continuing negotiations for a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the Pacific and the European Union (EU). In late 2007, the EU forced PNG and Fiji to initial Interim-EPAs, under threat of a dramatic increase in tariffs on key exports (tuna and sugar). This year, those two countries are coming to terms with the implications of the Interim-deals they have initialed (which contain clauses that will prevent value adding of natural resources in Fiji and PNG, and restrict their ability to nurture new industries), while at the same time the EU continues to push for a broad free trade agreement with the whole region. The EU is seeking market access for its corporations, exports and investors that goes far beyond the trade liberalisation required of World Trade Organisation members - despite the fact most Pacific countries are not WTO members. At the Madang seminar, concerns and questions about the proposed EPAs were raised with the European Commission (as represented by the Head of Delegation, Papua New Guinea , Aldo Dell’Ariccia, other ambassadors and trade negotiators from Brussels). Few of those concerns and questions were addressed at the Seminar, and those concerns and questions have been submitted to the Commission in writing. See here for detailed Pacific Civil Society concerns and questions regarding the ongoing EPA negotiations.

"Liberalisation... is it really providing a level playing field for small nations and bigger nations.
We cannot see that. Actually this trade liberalisation is making small countries dance
to a tune by bigger countries. Powerful countries."
- Ephraim Kalsakau,
Vanuatu National Workers' Trade Union

(April, Pacific Trade Ministers slam EU's approach to negotiation for new free trade deal as "divisive and domineering" (April 18, 2008)
Letters between the Coook Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilkie Rasmussen, and the EU's top trade official Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson highlight an increasing anger in the Pacific about negotiations for a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the Pacific Island States. It is clear from the letters that Pacific Ministers feel PNG and Fiji only signed interim-EPAs with the EU because they were threatened with a loss of exports (of tuna and sugar) if they didn't. The Ministers also feel that Mandelson has been a backroom bully, and they have passed a resolution pointing out Mandelson's "harsh and overly domineering" attitude during negotiations. Full story available here. Letters to Peter Mandelson available here.

Call to protect Pacific jobs and reject imposed Free Trade agenda. (January 22, 2008)
Following the news that Flour Mills of Fiji (FMF) has closed down two milling factories and put on hold $30 million worth of projects (that would have created 120 new jobs) PANG has called on Pacific governments to reject foreign imposed free trade policies that will lead to business closures and more job losses. See article in the Fiji Times here .

Making links - PANG IEC Officer Wes Morgan, ANU Pacific Studies Convener Katerina Teaiwa and PANG Coordinator Roshni Sami.

PANG meets with Australian National University - Pacific Studies Convener. (January 22, 2008)
PANG met with the Pacific Studies Convener at the Australian National University (Katerina Teaiwa) during a recent visit to Suva, Fiji. Discussions centred on ways that PANG may be able to work with researchers (both students and academics) within Australia in formal or informal capacities. It was also noted that the new Government in Australia is currently reviewing it's engagement with the Pacific Island countries. Pang is very keen to develop partnerships with researchers across the region interested in trade and economic justice issues in the Pacific.

Heat rises in the Pacific in response to interim trade deal. (December 15, 2007)
Angry voices are being raised in the Pacific Islands following Fiji and PNG's decision, under threats to Pacific livelihoods, to sign on to an interim trade deal with the EU. Island Business magazine is calling the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations a "sell out" while NGOs like Oxfam New Zealand have decried the deal as undermining meaningful Pacific integration. Read the Island Business article here, and press releases from Oxfam NZ here.

PNG and Fiji pushed into interim trade deal. (December 7, 2007)
It appears there is very little to celebrate in PNG and Fiji's signing of interim-trade deals with the EU. The EU has met virtually none of the key development priorities put forward by the Pacific negotiators. The EU has made no commitments on aid-for-trade, and the concessions on European market access for tuna exports have been minimal. In return, Fiji and PNG have abandoned Pacific-wide solidarity, and lost policy space for setting development priorities in the future. One official in Brussels described it as: "In effect, we have abandoned almost all forms of traditional trade policy. In return, we got nothing [from the EU]". Read the full story here.

EU stampedes over Pacific in rushed deal on trade. (November 24, 2007)
Under intense and grossly unfair pressure, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have split from their Pacific counterparts and initialled an interim agreement on trade in goods with the European Union. The EU had threatened Pacific livelihoods by refusing to rule out raising tariffs in 2008 on key exports of tuna and sugar. The implications of this bullying are far reaching. Read a feature article, including background information to the EPA negotiations, here. This article appeared in the Fiji Times on Saturday, November 24.

The Bittersweet Truth - The EU, Sugar and Poverty - On World Poverty Day (October 17, 2007)
PANG delivers a warning that free trade agreements with the EU, Australia and New Zealand could lead to increasing poverty in the Pacific. Dramatic trade liberalisation could lead to de-industrialisation and unemployment. This story also highlights 'divide and rule' tactics by the EU in negotiations for a new Economic Partnership Agreement with the Pacific. Read the full story here...

Pacific Regional NGOs issue statement on trade at Pacific Leaders Forum. (October 15, 2007)
This year’s annual gathering of regional NGOs - the 2007 Pacific Regional Civil Society Organisation Forum - has issued a strong statement to Pacific Leaders, urging them to stand up for the rights of the Pacific in negotiations for a new trade deal with the EU. Read full story here, and read Pacific CSO Forum Statement here...

Stand Strong - 2007 Pacific Regional CSO Forum delivers a message to Pacific leaders. Photo: Maureen Penjueli

'The EPA is about Free Trade, not Development'. (October 15, 2007)
PANG Coordinator Roshni Sami delivered a rousing speech to the Pacific NGOs annual forum. Her presentation to the 2007 Pacific Regional Civil Society Organisation Forum, in Tonga, focussed on the implications of Free Trade for the Pacific, especially the current negotiations for a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. . See full text of her speech here...

PANG warns Pacific negotiators to be wary of ‘circling sharks’. (October 7,2007)
A warning that any trade concessions offered to the EU in negotiations for a new ‘Economic Partnership Agreement’ may be demanded by Australia and NZ as well – with devastating consequences for the Pacific. Australia and NZ form a much larger share of Pacific trade, and tariffs collected on imports from our ‘Big Brother’ neighbours provides essential revenue for public services in much of the Pacific. Read more here...

Find out about the September 2007, Global Day of Action against the 'Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)' the EU is forcing on its ex-colonies. PANG invited representatives from the EU to come and drink kava with representatives of Pacific society, to share growing concerns about the bully-tactics the EU is using to force the Pacific to sign an agreement that offers them little. It was an interesting kava-ceremony. (September 27, 2007) Read more here...

PANG organises a public action to raise awareness about European bans on kava products.The EU is constantly lecturing developing countries that they should be developing export industries to help alleviate poverty. In the late 1990s the Pacific had a vibrant kava export industry – worth around $US200 million each year. In 2001, the EU imposed a ban on kava-products which decimated the Pacific export industry over night. The World Health Organisation says kava exports can safely begin again, the time is right for the EU to lift the ban. (September 27, 2007) Read more here...

PANG Releases an official paper on the European Kava Bans "Time to Make Trade Fair - Lift the Kava Bans". PANG has prepared an in-depth analysis of the European bans on kava products. Feel free to use and share this paper. (September, 2007) Available here…

Ultimately, PANG aims to improve effective and democratic governance in the Pacific, by empowering Pacific civil society and private sectors to engage the decision making process around trade and economic planning.

Contact PANG: Ph: (679) 331 6722 or email: coordinator@pang.org.fj

To recieve regular updates on issues of trade and justice in the Pacific, email media@pang.org.fj

Trade Justice Now
Trade Justice Now! is a monthly e-update from PANG.
Download your copy here:

July/August 2009: Trade Justice Now!

May/June 2009: Trade Justice Now!

January 2009: Trade Justice Now!

Nov-Dec 2008: Trade Justice Now!

October 2008: Trade Justice Now!

September 2008: Trade Justice Now!

August 2008: Trade Justice Now!

To subscribe simply send an email to pactrade-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

PANG
In the next three years, PANG seeks to actively promote appropriate alternative development and economic models that are based on traditional systems of land tenure and communal resource use, intra-regional and inter-regional trade routes for recognition and policy support by Pacific island governments and the international community. 


In doing so, PANG will also continue to work with key strategic partners to critically challenge the free trade models that the Pacific Island countries are currently negotiating with key trading partners Australia and New Zealand and the European Union which are legally binding the region to an inappropriate economic model. PANG calls for Pacific islanders to defend and pursue their own notion of economic, social and cultural development - their right to self determination rather than having external models imposed upon them.