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'Free trade' cure much worse than the disease

05.06.2003, New Zealand Herald. By Terri-Ann Scorer, executive director of Oxfam New Zealand. "Like the debate on how much we should curry favour with America to get a free trade deal, the debate on trade and aid in the Pacific is polarised. On one side, a right-wing think tank in Australia says all aid to the Pacific should be cut. Let them eat trade, seems to be the message. And then there is the World Trade Organisation juggernaut with its one-size-fits-all trade liberalisation agenda. Both push the view that the market will take care of the poor, they just have to get with the programme. On the other side is Marian Hobbs, the Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Official Development Assistance), who says that it is important for New Zealand to give aid in the Pacific. Not just any aid, smart aid."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3505653&thesection=news&thesubsection=dialogue

(Added: Tue Jun 10 2003   Modified: Wed Oct 27 2004   Hits: 403)

Blood from a stone (pdf 61.0 kb)

The tiny island Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific is about to make history, by joining the WTO on what are arguably the worst terms ever offered to any country. The appalling terms of Tonga's accession package show that nothing has changed in the way the world's smallest and most vulnerable economies are treated as they seek to join the WTO. It is a further demonstration that the fine words of the Doha Development Agenda mean nothing when pitted against the commercial interests of the world's richest countries. (Oxfam, December 2005)

http://oxfam.intelli-direct.com/e/d.dll?m=235&url=http://www.oxfam.org/en/files/bn051215_tonga_bloodfromastone/download

(Added: Tue Aug 01 2006   Hits: 246)

EU promises are hollow, claim Pacific civil society groups

Civil Society groups from 12 Pacific countries meeting in Nadi question what's in it for the Pacific in negotiations on a Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. (Oxfam, 17 June 2006)

http://www.oxfam.org.nz/news.asp?aid=1050

(Added: Mon Jun 19 2006   Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006   Hits: 236)

Fiji: Preparing for the End of Preferences?

This article, a chapter in the book 'Managing Challenges of WTO Participation: 45 Case Studies', explores the way in which Fiji's government and people are preparing to deal with the expected end of preferential trading relationships, and is based largely on interviews conducted in Fiji over several days in August 2004. It pays special attention the sugar and garment sectors. (Andrew L Stoler, AusAID and the World Trade Organisation, June 2006)

http://www.wto.org/English/res_e/booksp_e/casestudies_e/case13_e.htm

(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 218)

Globalisation in the Asia-Pacific Context [PDF -1640kb]

Department of the Parliamentary Library Research Paper No. 7 2001-02 ISSN 1328-7478 Professor Stuart Harris Consultant, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group 19 February 2002 "The paper begins by asking 'What is Globalisation?' and points out that the term itself is both imprecise and subject to contested definitions. Economic factors are central to globalisation, and many in the Asia-Pacific region would like to limit its effects to economics. However, the globalisation process also includes social, political and cultural links that-along with economic and technological links-tend increasingly to override territorial, legal and political barriers." [From Introduction]

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/2001-02/02RP07.pdf

(Added: Wed Mar 16 2005   Hits: 432)

Jane Kelsey: Updates On Developments In The Pacific

15th March 2004 [from scoop.co.nz] "...the Pacific Islands are under pressure to immerse themselves in the global economy, to privatize, liberalise imports and remove restrictions on foreign investors, including ownership of land. That pressure comes from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, through Poverty Reduction Strategy Programmes (PRSPs) that invoke the Millennium Development Goals to justify foreign control of key services. It also comes from aid donors, mainly Australia, New Zealand and the European Union, who define good governance as implementation of the neoliberal agenda."

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0503/S00118.htm

(Added: Wed Mar 16 2005   Modified: Wed Jun 28 2006   Hits: 681)

Kava issue threatens to bring down government

In New Caledonia, kava consumers have vowed to continue their blockade of the Vanuatu consulate office in Noumea until the government reverses its decision to give exclusive import rights to a Noumea-based company. The blockade which was orchestrated by mainly unhappy ni-Vanuatu kava importers began last week when the group closed the company's office in protest against the government's decision. Both the offices of the company, Maison du Vanuatu, and the Vanuatu consulate have remained closed as the protesters continue their picket. (Pacific Beat, 12 July 2006)

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacbeat/stories/s1684939.htm

(Added: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 189)

NZ minister encourages region to sign up to WTO

NZ Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has told a Pacific trade meeting in Wellington that Pacific Island states should join the WTO. This short interview allows him to outline his reasons for this recommendation, and then gives the floor to an Oxfam representative who calls the terms for Tonga's entry into the WTO, "the worst that were ever offered to any country joining the WTO". (ABC News, 7 July 2006)

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacbeat/stories/s1681463.htm

(Added: Tue Jul 11 2006   Hits: 183)

NZAID makes grant to boost Pacific trade

03 July 2003, NZ Government. The government will contribute an additional $750,000 over the next three years to assist Pacific Island countries get access to New Zealand markets, Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said today. Mr Sutton, in Fiji at the Pacific Forum Trade Ministers meeting, said the funding will come from the government's aid agency, NZAID.

http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.cfm?DocumentID=17242

(Added: Tue Jul 08 2003   Modified: Wed Oct 27 2004   Hits: 427)

Pacific 2020: Challenges and opportunities for growth

Pacific 2020 highlights major challenges facing the Pacific, Papua New Guinea and East Timor in the next 15 years. It emphasises the importance of economic growth to surmount these problems and provides practical policy options in nine key sectors to maximise growth. The report was produced as part of the Pacific 2020 project in collaboration with numerous individuals and organisations from throughout the Pacific islands region and further a field. (AusAid, May 2006)

http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pubout.cfm?Id=219_173_9143_7522_6433

(Added: Tue May 23 2006   Hits: 294)

Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreements

On the 18th August 2001, at the 32nd Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru, Forum Leaders endorsed and signed the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) and the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA. + Frequently Asked Questions - PICTA and PACER. (pdf) + Key Features - PICTA and PACER (pdf) + PICTA - Full Legal Text (pdf)

http://www.forumsec.org/UserFiles/File/SPARTECA_Status_Report.pdf

(Added: Thu Feb 21 2002   Modified: Thu Feb 08 2007   Hits: 425)

PICTA - Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreeement (2001)

Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreeement (PICTA) signed in 2001 by members of the Pacific Island Forum

http://www.forumsec.org/_resources/article/files/PICTA%20-%20endorse%20&%20sign(18-8-01).pdf

(Added: Fri Oct 22 2004   Modified: Thu Feb 08 2007   Hits: 404)

PICTA, PACER and EPAS: Where Are We Going?

By Wadan Narsey, www.pacificislands.cc, April 2004. It has been a relatively easy matter for Pacific Islands Country (PIC) governments to sign regional trade agreements such as PICTA (Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement‹excluding Australia and New Zealand;) and PACER (Pacific Agreement for Closer Economic Relations‹including Australia and NZ.) The PICs are also negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as part of the Cotonou Agreement (CA) with the European Union (EU). The EPAs will replace the trade agreement‹part of the Lome Agreement after 2007. The stated objective of all these agreements has been to accelerate PIC people's sustainable development‹creating jobs, higher incomes, and improving standards of living all round. But are PIC governments prepared for the very serious economic adjustments which will be required in the future by PICTA, PACER, the EPAs and WTO?

http://www.pacificmagazine.net/pm42004/pmdefault.php?urlarticleid=0044

(Added: Fri Apr 30 2004   Modified: Wed Nov 15 2006   Hits: 513)

Policy Brief: towards the free trade area in the Pacific

At their latest annual summit in Vietnam in November 2006, the leaders of the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum launched a process that could ultimately produce the largest single act of trade liberalization in history. They agreed to "seriously consider" negotiating a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) and instructed their officials to "undertake further studies on ways and means to promote" the initiative so that they could address it at their next summit in Australia in September 2007. (Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics, June 2007)

http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb07-2.pdf

(Added: Wed Jun 13 2007   Hits: 141)

The Con/Dominion of Vanuatu? Paying the Price of Investment and Land Liberalisation - a case study of Vanuatu's Tourism Industry (pdf)

Tourism is a large and growing industry for many Pacific Island nations. The tourist industry has both costs and benefits for countries which choose to seek the tourist dollar. Good governance of the industry involves optimising the benefits to local people and the economy, while minimising social, environmental and cultural costs. However, the ability to regulate in this way could be constrained or even removed by commitments in international trade deals, for example, those made under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) at the WTO. The following case study shows that the industry has far more costs and fewer benefits than it should for local people and the Vanuatu economy. (Claire Slatter, Oxfam, August 2006)

http://www.oxfam.org.nz/imgs/whatwedo/mtf/vanuatu_tourism.pdf

(Added: Fri Aug 11 2006   Hits: 348)

The Fiji Garment Industry (pdf)

Oxfam New Zealand. By Donovan Storey, 2004. This report examines the garment industry in Fiji. The Fijian garment industry has had a short and often turbulent history. A product of the post-1987 coup strategy of export-led economic development, coupled with key preferential trading arrangements, it had a dramatic early growth. The industry rapidly became a critical part of the economic structure of the country, surpassing sugar as the number one export sector in 1997. Critics, however, point to the fragility of the garment sector and its dependence on markets and buyers over which it has little control. The sector has struggled to mature in terms of becoming an efficient and sustainable industry.

http://www.oxfam.org.nz/media/Oxfam%20Fiji%20Garment%20Study.pdf

(Added: Thu Aug 26 2004   Modified: Fri Jul 21 2006   Hits: 404)

The Pacific Island Nations: Towards Shared Representation

The economies of the Pacific island nations are among the most disadvantaged in the world today when it comes to global trading. This article, a chapter in the book 'Managing Challenges of WTO Participation: 45 Case Studies' argues that there is a need for greater regional co-operation and pooling of resources. It uses kava as an example to illustrate the challenges facing Pacific island nations. (Chakriya Bowman, AusAID and the World Trade Organisation, June 2006)

http://www.wto.org/English/res_e/booksp_e/casestudies_e/case33_e.htm#casestudy

(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 207)

Tiny Kingdom of Tonga set to join WTO today on "worst terms ever"

The tiny island Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific is about to make history. Tonga is to join the WTO on what are arguably the worst terms ever offered to any country, according to an analysis of leaked documents released today by international agency Oxfam. "The terms of Tonga's accession package are appalling," said Oxfam's Phil Bloomer. "This is one of the world's smallest and most vulnerable economies, and the extortionist demands being made on it should have no place in a "development round". Apparently, the rhetoric of development means nothing at the WTO when pitted against the commercial interests of the world's richest countries." Oxfam New Zealand, 15 Dec 2005.

http://www.oxfam.org.nz/news.asp?s1=news&aid=837

(Added: Tue Dec 20 2005   Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006   Hits: 301)

Trade on Human Terms: Transforming Trade for Human Development in Asia and the Pacific

The Asia-Pacific region is at the forefront of globalization - with some of the world's fastest rates of growth in international trade in both merchandise goods - and, increasingly, services provided by people. This report examines the most recent developments on trade and economic growth and tried to assess the impact on human development - more specifically, the effects on the region's poorest. Trade, it is acknowledged, can hinder as well as enhance human development. How therefore should governments repond to trade? The report concludes with an eight point agenda for ensuring that trade's benefits reach the regions poorest. (UNDP, 2006)

http://www.undprcc.lk/rdhr2006/rdhr2006new.asp

(Added: Tue Jul 11 2006   Modified: Mon Sep 18 2006   Hits: 233)