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Trade ministers to begin talks on Pacific deal
22-Oct-2009 AFP
Trade ministers from Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island countries will meet in Brisbane for two days from Friday as negotiations are launched for the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER-Plus).
Fiji will pull out from trade agreements
17-Aug-2009
Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji will pull out of the Trade Agreement negotiations.
Pacific leaders agree on aid, free trade negotiations
7-Aug-2009 NBR
An agreement was reached to progress Pacer Plus, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations, and to keep Fiji informed but not formally involved in the process.
Australia, NZ deny bullying Pacific nations over trade deal
7-Aug-2009 AFP
Australia and New Zealand Friday denied bullying Pacific Island nations into starting negotiations for a controversial regional free trade deal.
Pacific island countries set to block regional trade deal
5-Aug-2009 AFP
Opponents say island countries’ local industries would be destroyed by cheaper imports and govts would lose much of their revenue if tariffs and duties were lifted on Aussie, NZ goods
Australia continues to harbour concern over Pacific trade talks
4-Aug-2009 Radio Australia
Australia has been hoping that this week’s Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting will approve the formal start of negotiations on the proposed PACER-Plus regional free trade deal. But for months Canberra has been rejecting growing claims by regional opponents of a deal that its been unfairly pressuring Pacific nations to agree to the process.
Australia’s getting the plus in PACER
8-Jul-2009 Islands Busines
Out of the nine resolutions made by trade ministers in the Pacific at their meeting in Samoa last month, seven were said to be concessions to their bigger neighbours of Australia and New Zealand.
Pacific Islands bullied by Australian, NZ trade officials, say experts
1-Jun-2009 Epoch Times
Tactics employed by Australia and New Zealand to push Pacific Island countries into signing a free trade agreement are a form of “contemporary colonization,” said academic and respected analyst on Pacific Island affairs, Professor Jane Kelsey at a seminar in Auckland last week.
Arena accuses NZ Govt of ambushing Pacific on trade deal
6-May-2009
This weekend’s meeting of Pacific trade ministers in Auckland to progress the launch of PACER+ trade negotiations has all the hallmarks of an Australian and New Zealand ambush, the Arena network said today.
10 Reasons to Challenge PACER-Plus
27-Apr-2009 PANG
The Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) has prepared a fact-sheet (10 Reasons to Challenge PACER-Plus) outlining concerns about a potential free trade agreement between Australia/New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries. Concerns include dramatic losses in government revenue, an undermining of public services, potential threats to indigenous land-rights, business closures and job losses.
Australian Trade Minister faces hard sell on Pacific Free Trade tour
7-Apr-2009
The idea of a South Pacific free trade zone is a dream which has remained elusive for many years, mainly because many island nations are heavily dependent on import tariffs to maintain government services. Despite this, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean has been touring the region in an attempt to generate new support for the concept.
Australian ministers discuss Pacific free trade deal in Vanuatu
5-Apr-2009
Vanuatu’s government has indicated its support for a proposed regional free trade deal between Australia, New Zealand and the wider Pacific region.
Give PACER a chance, says Tonga Trade Minister
5-Apr-2009
Tonga’s Trade Minister says it’s unfair for people to criticise the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations or PACER PLUS until it is properly implemented.
Why a free trade agreement with our big brothers could hurt us
3-Apr-2009 PACNEWS
Article explaining possible negative implications (for the Pacific Island Countries) of a free trade agreement with Australia and NZ...
Trade: Aust, NZ push trade agenda in region
10-Feb-2009 Islands Business
Governments in Australia and New Zealand are keen to assure Pacific nations that relations with the region are marked by ‘shared development goals’, but as Maureen Penjueli writes, the islands’ ‘big brothers’ have been pushing an agenda of their own—especially when it comes to negotiating a regional free trade agreement.