Page 32 - IB July 2020

Opinion Opinion

RE-NEGOTIATED PACER PLUS FOR

POST-COVID-19 PACIFIC REGIONALISM

By Ambassador Kaliopate Tavola also needs to critically think about its own strategy given the
disunity that reigns within. There is disunity in PIF’s stance
Globalism is being threatened in the post-Covid-19 global on climate change. There may also be disunity as regards
order. However, there is still ample common sense around PIF’s stance on the disintegration of globalism. Australia,
to counter such a threat. Those engaged are still at an early for instance, is known for having attacked the UN last year,
stage in their coordinated countermove. They are likely to speaking against ‘negative globalism’ and ‘unaccountable
attract reinforcements to ensure some semblance of the international bureaucracies.’ PIF needs the global pathway. It
familiar multilateralism in the interest of global orderliness should be its core geostrategy.
and of humanity in general. During this period of enforced At the practical level, PIF needs to double and treble its
unsettledness, regionalism, e.g. Pacific regionalism (Pacific efforts at integration and especially economic integration. I
Islands Forum – PIF) will need to be strong, active and react have written at length about the delayed economic integra-
as effectively as is possible, to avoid any major setback in tion amongst the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) as regards
members’ economic, social and geo-political status. This is Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA). The same
critical given that the majority of PIF members are vulner- scenario can definitely be said about integration between
able, small island developing states - globally characterised as the PICs, on one hand, and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ),
developing or least developed countries. on the other hand, under the PACER Plus trade agreement.
The US under President Trump, with its nationalistic and This trade agreement is yet to be implemented. However,
autarkic ‘Make America Great Again’ is leading the charge for the demand on its deliverables for economic integration has
the disintegration of globalism. Its newest trade armament, intensified under current circumstances to warrant immediacy
brought about by COVID-19, straddled new heights of aggres- of action. And I believe that the opportunity desperately
sive protectionism. So much so that a new trade lexicon has beckons.
been coined to mark its undignified entrance. ‘Sicken Thy When the collective negotiations on PACER Plus were de-
Neighbour’ relates to US’s export restriction (and even diver- clared concluded to facilitate signing, Fiji opted to continue
sion) of medical products to deserving importing countries negotiating. There was no dissension on this matter. Fiji was
for, inter alia, protectionist reasons. The new lexicon joins its upfront as regards its intention to improve some aspects of
equally nefarious ‘Beggar Thy Neighbour’ to take autarky and the ‘agreed texts’. The bilateral negotiations thus ensued and
protectionism to a new level. have yet to be declared closed.
The counter-movers to recapture lost grounds from global- This article endorses the need for greater economic
ism have globalisation and multilateralism at heart. Despite integration within PIF to raise its profile in addressing the
the downsides of globalisation, they believe that a multi- disintegration of globalism. Therefore, PIF needs to sanc-
lateral approach to solving humanity’s challenges, including tion the continued negotiations on PACER Plus with the view
existential threats like climate change, can only be effec- of attributing the trade agreement with all the concessions,
tively addressed at the global level. A number of great world special and differential treatments, waivers and derogation
thinkers share the same view. Historian Yuval Noah Harari, for possible to render maximum benefits especially to the PICs.
example, believes that the three challenges he identified for This can all be done with the requisite dosage of political
the world, viz: ecological collapse, technological disruption will, by both Australia and New Zealand, the two developed
and nuclear war, can only be resolved at the global level. country members of PIF.
For PIF members, especially the 16 Pacific Island Countries, The opportunity should also be taken to effectively engage
Pacific regionalism is a critical pathway and an effective with Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the extended negotiations.
collective tool linking them additionally to the multilateral PNG had opted out of the earlier negotiations. In the context
framework. Strong, active and effective regionalism will of Pacific regionalism, there is just no logic to having a trade
complement national initiatives to benefit through regional agreement with ANZ without the biggest economy of all the
outputs and outcomes. Further, through Pacific regionalism, PICs involved. From statements released from Port Moresby,
PIF members can aspire to increasing levels of integration it can be appreciated that the issues of concern to PNG are
amongst them and PICs especially can effectively exercise similar to those that Fiji had highlighted.
their collective innate agency on global issues that matter Additionally, Vanuatu’s concern about lost tax revenue re-
to them. At the multilateral level, they would benefit from, sulting from hasty and hefty tariff reduction, can also be ad-
inter alia, the articulation of reasoned, effective and efficient dressed with more concessionary tariff reduction scheduling.
advocacy of critical global issues. This may require, firstly, reviewing the contents of Vanuatu’s
For Pacific regionalism, therefore, it is now a critical time allowable schedule of protected goods and services. Secondly,
for self-analysis. PIF needs to step up its game in order to it may also need increased tolerance level as regards the
raise its levels of aspiration. The post-COVID-19 new normal definition of ‘substantial part of the trade’ – to be subjected
demands this. Apart from the propitiousness of timing, PIF to trade liberalisation under the agreement.

32 Islands Business, July 2020