Oxfam New Zealand is supporting the call for no decision to be made on the Pacific's proposed trade deal PACER-Plus.
The region's trade ministers are preparing to meet in Christchurch this Friday to further discuss the agreement.
Negotiations started in 2009 and are on track to wrap up later this year.
The executive director of Oxfam New Zealand Rachael Le Mesurier says Pacific economies face unique challenges and any regional trade policy must bear that in mind.
She spoke to Koroi Hawkins
The market in Luganville, on Vanuatu's Santo.
Photo: Supplied / UN Women
Transcript
RACHAEL LE MESURIER: What Oxfam is supporting the PANG request for a neutral and unbiased social impact report. This is such a significant treaty for the Pacific. It has impacts across the board from small businesses all the way through to how governments are able to raise tax. And it is something that to go into this it is something that both the governments and the individuals are as informed as possible on the things that are likely to be an indirect impact. Not necessarily the obvious stuff around the potential to increase the reach into the world global markets.
KOROI HAWKINS: The Chief Advisor to the Pacific Island countries has spoken out about this report and a lot of PANG's recommendations and findings and he said that a lot of what they are talking about is based on outdated negotiating text and that they have addressed a lot of this in supply and demand and trade in goods services. So he is saying that their report is based on outdated text and everything is accounted for and covered in the current version of the agreement is that good enough for you in terms of where PACER-Plus is?
RLM: I think that the fundamental concerns are still sitting very much around the principles of a free trade agreement that has a wide range of different nations who are being expected to sign up and how important it is not just around a level playing field but the reality of the power imbalances there. But also acknowledging that that development component is not just crucial it is actually, we need more information to understand how that will apply is it new money is it old money how is it going to help Nauru and Tuvalu (for example) actually be able to build the systems and processes around tariffs and removal of tariffs and customs that is going to meet the requirements for the World Trade Organisation and that those questions are still outstanding.
KH: More recently Papua New Guinea has pulled out of the agreement, it is one of the largest Pacific island economies. Is that do you think foreboding in terms of where PACER-Plus is and how relevant it is to the Pacific?
RLM: The relevance is not just you know at one level the political leadership and the perceived access to global markets. It is also how relevant is it for the small businesses. For the communities and villages in some of the more remote areas of the Pacific. Because the truth is actually it is not necessarily in their interest to have foreign nationals and foreign companies in and bringing new products into their communities. That can possibly undermine those small businesses which are so integral to the way that the village economies work. So that is where particularly Oxfam is concerned and we can't see how without a social impact report that looks to the impact on those small businesses informal and formal before we can go ahead and agree something like PACER-Plus.
To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following:
See terms of use.