PACER Plus is a free trade agreement between members of the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

(the Forum Island Countries plus

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

). The agreement expands the existing

Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) is an umbrella agreement between members of the Pacific Islands Forum (the Forum Island Countries plus Australia and New Zealand) which provides a framework for the future development of ...

(PACER) to include further trade liberalisation and development assistance. It entered into force on 13 December 2020.

History

Negotiations on the agreement began in 2009, and were completed in April 2017. It was opened for signature in Nuku'alofa,

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

, in June 2017 and was initially signed by eleven countries: Australia,

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

, New Zealand,

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, Tonga,

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. The agreement needed to be ratified by eight signatories to come into force. New Zealand was the first to ratify it, in October 2018, followed by Australia in December 2018, Samoa in July 2019, the

in June 2020, and

in July 2020. Kiribati and Tonga also ratified it. The Cook Islands ratified on 13 October 2020, the eighth country to do so. The treaty entered into force two months after the eighth ratification. In August 2024, Fiji announced they would re-evaluate joining in PACER Plus.

Criticism

The value of the agreement to the Pacific is disputed.

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, the two largest Pacific island economies, have refused to join, significantly undermining the value of the deal to the Pacific. The removal of tariffs on imported Australian and New Zealand goods is expected to cause a significant loss of revenue to Pacific governments. The Pacific Network on Globalisation has called the agreement "unbalanced" as key provisions on aid and labour mobility are non-binding.

References

External links

Pacer Plus Implementation Unit

Full text of the agreement
{{Free trade agreements of New Zealand Free trade agreements of New Zealand Free trade agreements of Australia Pacific Islands Forum treaties Proposed free trade agreements Treaties of Niue Treaties of Samoa Treaties of the Cook Islands Treaties of Tonga Treaties of Kiribati