Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus
The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER-Plus) is a regional free trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and nine Pacific Island Countries that came into effect on 13 December 2020. The negotiations were controversially launched in 2009 despite reservations from some Pacific governments and concluded in 2017.
PACER-Plus was negotiated in secret with leaked negotiating text often the only way that the general public was able to see first-hand what was on the table.
PACER-Plus aims to restructure the economies of the Pacific under the promise that this will bring in greater investment and fuel economic growth. This means restricting what Pacific government's can and cannot do with regards to their economic policy and includes: limiting the amount of import taxes applied; removing requirements that investors employ local workers or local content; and undermining the ability of governments to regulate.
Papua New Guinea, the largest Pacific Island economy opted out of the negotiations claiming that it would be a “net loss” for PNG. Fiji, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands have also not signed the agreement.
The 2016 report, “Defending Pacific Ways of Life: A Peoples Social Impact Assessment of PACER-Plus”, highlights the threats to Pacific governments regarding their right to regulate, the right to food for Pacific Islanders, significant negative health impacts, and disproportionate impacts that would be borne by women. The report recommended making no decision on PACER-Plus until there has been the release of all the texts and market access schedules to enable a fully-funded and independent assessment to allow Pacific people to make an informed decision about exactly what PACER-Plus means.
Key Reports and Briefing Papers
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A Peoples' Guide to PACER-Plus
This Guide unpacks what PACER-Plus is, how we got into this mess, and what it means for Pacific people, our environment, our cultures and way of life. It is written with a desire that people will be able to move past the false promises of riches and the technical language of the legal documents, and, most importantly, be compelled to act on this information.
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Defending Pacific ways of life: A Peoples' Social Impact Assessment of PACER-Plus
Defending Pacific ways of life: A Peoples’ Social Impact Assessment of PACER-Plus, was commissioned by PANG to provide Pacific governments, negotiators, parliamentarians, civil society actors, customary landowners and the private sector with an alternative assessment of the impacts that PACER-Plus will have on the region.
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Speaking Truth to Power
This publication sheds light on the power politics and "corridor discussions" of our respective government officials and ministers in the lead up to the launch of the PACER-Plus negotiations in 2009.
Analysis of PACER-Plus Texts
Trade in Goods
Trade in Services and Investment
Arrangement on Development Assistance
Arrangement on Labour Mobility
The chapters on services and investment in the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations ‘Plus’ (PACER-Plus) show Australia and New Zealand (NZ) have dominated the negotiations to advance their commercial and strategic self-interest, just as they drove the original PACER signed in 2001. Commitments that development would be at the core of PACER-Plus for island countries have never materialised.
Liberalisation of goods and other commitments in the area of goods have major implications for the development prospects of Forum Island Countries.
The conclusion of PANG’s analysis is that the Trade in Goods Chapter will severely hamper the development prospects of FICs.
Proponents frequently refer to PACER-Plus as a trade and development agreement with the inclusion of the Development and Economic Cooperation Arrangement. However, what the Arrangement results in, is aid money, tightly controlled by Australia and New Zealand to flow to areas that will make FICs uphold their commitments on market access. This will ultimately benefiting the two metropolitan Parties.
PACER-Plus itself achieved little by way of actual improvements for Pacific Islander workers to access the labour markets of Australia and New Zealand. Rather, all that was agreed in non-binding language was an annual meeting to discuss matters relating to labour mobility.