Pacific

The EU's trade relationship with the Pacific states (Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands) is set by an Economic Partnership Agreement.

The agreement was ratified by the European Parliament in January 2011 and by Papua New Guinea in May 2011. The government of Fiji started applying the agreement in July 2014. Samoa acceded to the EPA on 21 December 2018 and Solomon Islands on 17 May 2020 and are applying it since then.

On 19 July 2018, Tonga informed the EU of its intention to accede to the EPA.

ACP Pacific countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Trade picture

• Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu are currently members of the WTO.
• EU imports from the Pacific region are mostly palm oil, coffee, coconut, and fish.
• EU exports to the Pacific region are mostly electrical machinery and equipment.

The EU and Pacific states

The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands opens up trade in goods with the EU. The agreement includes:

• Duty-free and quota-free exports from Papua New Guinea and Fiji into the EU as of 1 January 2008
• The asymmetric and gradual opening of their markets to EU goods, taking full account of differences in levels of development and sensitive sectors  
• Papua New Guinea opened up its market to 88% of imports from the EU from day one
• Fiji is opening up its market to 87% of imports from the EU over 15 years
• All three countries have excluded some products from sensitive sectors and those important for revenue from this liberalisation
• Samoa opens up its market to 80% of imports from the EU over 20 years.
• Pacific States can reintroduce duties and quotas if imports from the EU disturb or threaten to disturb the local economy
• Rules on technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures to help Pacific exporters meet EU import standards
• Efficient customs procedures and better co-operation between administrations

The Agreement is open for the other 12 ACP Pacific countries to join.

Papua New Guinea market access offer to the EU transposed in HS2017

Committees and Dialogues

The EU and the Pacific meet regularly to discuss issues and best practices and oversee the proper functioning of the agreement.

• Meetings and documents

Trading with the Pacific

• Importing into the EU from the Pacific
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from the Pacific
• Exporting from the EU to the Pacific
  • Trade defence measures in force in Pacific
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste
• Sustainability impact assessment on EU-African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Trade Relations of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA)
• EU-Pacific States Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): Creating opportunities for EU and Pacific businesses
• See how the interim Economic Partnership Agreement is benefitting exporters in the Pacific EPA Group