Ritika Pratap 
[ source: MTCSME ]
The European Union stakeholders have been urged to adopt a realistic and fair approach that considers the challenges of small island developing states in the Pacific.
While the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement provides crucial market access, there is a need to address complex rules of origin, trade-related infrastructure constraints, and compliance challenges under the EU’s Green Deal to maximize the agreement’s benefits.
Permanent Secretary for Trade, Shaheen Ali says trade should remain an enabler of sustainable and inclusive growth in the region.
Ali who is attending the 10th Trade Committee Meeting of the IEPA in Brussels, Belgium, also raised concerns about EU’s continued blacklisting of Fiji and other Pacific nations as non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.
He says despite Fiji’s significant reforms – including joining the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in December 2023 and strengthening financial transparency, it remains blacklisted as of last December.
Ali adds they remain hopeful this will change soon with continued progress.
He has welcomed the Samoa Agreement as a framework for deeper cooperation and expressed its readiness to work with Pacific partners and the EU to ensure a trading system that fosters long-term development and resilience.
