A trade expert with the Pacific Islands Forum says claims Pacific countries are not ready to negotiate opening up their economies to trade in services are unfair.
The Pacific NGO, the Pacific Network on Globalisation, wants a moratorium on such negotiations, saying Pacific trade officials do not sufficiently understand the implications of trade in services.
Last week Forum trade ministers met in Rarotonga to discuss trade in services within the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement
The Forum's Director of Economic Governance, Dr Roman Grynberg, says substantial progress was made in talks on how to open up sectors such as telecommunications while others such as labour mobility remain problematic.
He says the region knows what's involved after extensive capacity building.
"Many of our countries in the last little while have seen the real benefits of liberalisation in telecommunication, in air transport services, so I am not sure that they haven't had some experience and they don't have a fair amount of knowledge."
Dr Roman Grynberg
