Post-COVID-19 propositions for various sectors of the economy currently abound. Credit to those who are churning out these fine ideas for public consumption. One in particular, by Dr. Transform Aqorau: ‘Imagining a new post-COVID-19 international economic order (NIEO) for the Pacific Islands’ is essentially regional in essence and in application. Dr. Aqorau refers to it as ‘a single custom and development union’, or alternatively, ‘a single economic and development union’.
His article goes on to describe this NIEO for the Pacific Islands. In the lexicon of regionalism, Aqorau’s NIEO is essentially regional economic integration, with a degree of specificity on extractive industries, structured on the basis of a free trade agreement, and which has progressed to a customs union, common market and economic union. But it goes beyond that to include advanced regional integration measures to coordinate policies beyond economic, including the coordination of institutions throu
PACER Plus highlights
PACER Plus is a trade and development agreement which streamlines trade, cuts red tape and reduces compliance costs.
For Pacific Island countries, the agreement helps to increase exports and attract investment. It reduces tariffs across the region, improves transparency for businesses, and provides more liberal rules of origin, which makes it easier to determine what qualifies as a Pacific Island product. It helps to create opportunities for Pacific exporters to get their products and services into Australian and New Zealand markets, and trade throughout the region.
PACER Plus improves market access for New Zealand suppliers and investors. It provides greater certainty around tariffs and creates efficiencies in clearing customs. It also provides New Zealand businesses with legal protections that guarantee market access and treatment equivalent to that given to local and foreign competitors, unless subject to specific exceptions.