WT/REG302/M/1  
WT/REG408/M/1  
WT/REG409/M/1  
 
19 April 2024  
(24-3294) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Ninth Session   
 
 
ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION  
AND THE PACIFIC STATES (PAPUA NEW GUINEA, FIJI, SAMOA AND  
THE SOLOMON  ISLANDS)  
(GOODS)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 8 APRIL 2024  
Chair: Ambassador  H.E. Ms. Clare KELLY (New Zealand)  
1.1.  The 109th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/34/Rev.1  dated 28 March 2024.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item 8.3, the CRTA c onsidered the Agreement establishing an Economic 
Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Pacific States (Papua New Guinea, Fiji, 
Samoa and the Solomon Islands), goods , (hereinafter "the Agreement"). The Chair  stated that the 
Factual Presen tation had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full 
consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Mechanism for 
Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671 ). 
1.3.  The Agreement comprise d three notifica tions made under Article  XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 
and received between 18 October 2011 and 26 October 2020 : that of EU -Papua New Guinea and Fiji 
(WT/REG302/N/1  and Add.1), and the accessions of Samoa and the Solomon Islands 
(WT/REG408 /N/1 and WT/REG 409/N/1 , respectively) . The Agreement, which had entered into force 
between 20  December 2009 and 17 May 2020 depending on the Party, had been notified as an 
agreement establishing a free trade area for trad e in goods, within the meaning of Article XXIV(8)(b) 
of the GATT 1994. The text of the Agreement, together with its Annexes, was available on Parties' 
official websites and in the WTO RTA database. In order to provide a comprehensive description of 
the Agr eement, a single Factual Presentation had been drafted encompassing the three notifications  
and had been  circulated as a triple symbol document, WT/REG302/1  – WT/REG408/1  – 
WT/REG409/1 . The corresponding questions and replies document  (documents WT/REG302/2  – 
WT/REG408/2  – WT/REG409/2 ) had also been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of the European Union  stated that i t was a pleasure for the EU to say a few 
words on the Agreement  and thank ed the WTO Secretariat for  the opportunity to present as well as 
all WT O Members for their interest in the Agreement.  
1.5.  The Agreement  had been  signed by the EU, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2009  and had 
been provisionally applied between the EU and PNG since 2009 and between the EU and Fiji since 
2014. The Agreement was open for accession to all Pacific Island States that were party to the 
Samoa agreement, formally known as the Cotonou agreement, based on the submission of a 
GATT  1994 Article XXIV compliant market access offer. Any request for accession had to be 
presente d to the Parties to the Agreement, which would make a decision. It was in that context that 
Samoa and the Solomon Islands had acceded to the Agreement and were provisionally applying it 
since 2018 and 2020, respectively.  
1.6.  The Agreement establishe d a free trade area for trade in goods between the Parties, within the 
meaning of Article XXIV(8)(b) of the GATT 1994. It offered duty-free and quota -free access to the 
EU market for all products from the Pacific States and provide d for asymmetrical and gra dual tariff 
liberalisation taking account of the level of development of the Pacific States. The Agreement WT/REG302/M/1 • WT/REG408/M/1 • WT/REG409/M/1  
 
- 2 - 
 
  protect ed domestic industries t hrough product exclusions, an infant industry clause, special 
safeguards and, as necessary, a flexible approach to exp ort taxes. For instance, all four Pacific States 
were exempted  from liberalizing all products from sensitive sectors , such as  meat, fish, fruits and 
vegetables.  
1.7.  The Agreement also aim ed to promote sustainable development and the gradual integration of 
the Pacific States in the global economy, and to cooperate on customs and trade facilitation, technical 
barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. It establishe d dispute avoidance and 
settlement procedures and an institutional framework for dia logue between the Parties.  
1.8.  The Agreement establishe d the EU -Pacific EPA Trade Committee that me t regularly to take 
stock of implementation of the Agreement and ensure that consumers and businesses could  fully 
reap the benefits of trade and the development opportunities that the Agreement offer ed. Since 
2009, nine EPA Committee meetings had taken place alternatively in the Pacific region and in 
Brussels  with the most recent one having taken place on 7-8 February 20 24, in Apia, Samoa . The 
next Trade Committee meeting would be held in Brussels in 2025.  The Agreement also establishe d 
a Special Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin that had also met twice to discuss 
recent developments in the customs legislations and procedures of the Part ies, including an 
exchange  of up-to-date lists of contacts for the purposes of implementation of the Protocol on mutual 
administrative assistance in customs matters.  
1.9.  With regard to trade flows between the EU and the Pacific States, d espite the challenges r elated 
to small island economies, the EU was pleased with the progressive implementation of the 
Agreement. With the Pacific States ' EPA utilisation rate of 95%, their trade with the EU had increased 
by 35% to EUR 1.4 billion  between 2020 and 2022, with the EU trade deficit worth EUR 1.1 billion 
in 2022.  
1.10.   The EU's investments had also been increasing at the same time. Between 2016 and 2021, 
It's outward investment stock in the Pacific EPA countries had more than doubled, passing from 
approx imately EUR 1 billi on to EUR 2.3 billion, representing 49% of the EU's investment in the ACP 
Pacific countries in 2021.  
1.11.   As the EU looked forward under the Samoa Agreement , which had been  signed on 15 
November 2023 between the EU and the ACP Group of States, it had committed to support  its 
implementation and functioning, to encourage the accession of interested countries , and, where 
appropriate, broadening  the scope of the Agreement.  The Sa moa Agreement solidifie d the foundation 
for strengthening  trade relation s between the EU and the Pacific States, and this would enable them 
to benefit more from the duty-free quota-free access to the EU market, and  from the facilitative 
rules of origin, in  particular arrangements on fisheries that were proving to be beneficial in creating 
jobs and growth in the Pacific EPA States.  
1.12.   The EU was also stepping up its EU-Pacific relations on trade policy and cooperation, which 
had been improving, with the facilit ation by the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat's ( PIFS) coordination 
of a number of development program mes, notably the Pacific Regional Integration Support 
Programme (PRISE), whose objectives support ed EPA implementation through  three aspects  - 
strengtheni ng Pacific Intra -Regional & International Trade (SPIRIT) , improving Pacific Islands 
Customs and Trade (IMPACT), and Safe Agriculture Trade Facilitation in the Pacific (SAFE).  
1.13.   EU-Pacific trade relation s were gaining significant momentum through the accessio n of six 
more countries , namely Tuvalu, Niue, Tonga, Timor -Leste, Vanuatu, and the Federated States of 
Micronesia that had recently requested to join the Agreement . The EU's priority therefore was to 
build on that momentum by concluding the accessions and  to focus on the implementation of existing 
commitments, without prejudice to any decision that the Parties would take later, in the long run, 
to enlarge the scope of the Agreement beyond goods.  
1.14.   The representative of Samoa  delivered the state ment on behalf of the Pacific Parties to the 
Agreement  and thanked the Chair  and commended  her commitment and stewardship of the 
committee 's work and  wished her the best for her next role.  
1.15.   The Pacific Parties acknowledge d the work of the Secretariat in pu tting together the factual 
presentation on the Agreement and Members for their positive contribution to the process. They also WT/REG302/M/1 • WT/REG408/M/1 • WT/REG409/M/1  
 
- 3 - 
 
  acknowledge d the written question from Türkiye  which had provided an opportunity for the Parties 
to reflect on the important role  of medium and small -scale enterprises ( MSMEs ), particularly for the 
Pacific States with almost 100% commercial activities dominated by MSME operations.  
1.16.   As noted by the EU, the Agreement had been signed by the Parties between 30  July 2009 and 
17 May 2020 . It had entered into force between the EU and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 
December  2009, and between the EU and Fiji in July 2014. The accessions of Samoa and the 
Solomon Islands had entered into force on 31 December 2018 and 17 May  2020, respectively .  
1.17.   The Agreement aimed to enable Pacific States to benefit from preferential access to the EU 
market following the expiry of preferences under the Cotonou Agreement at the end of December 
2007, and pending the completion of comprehensive economic partnership agreement negotiations 
with all 15 Pacific ACP Member States.  It also aimed to promote sustainable development and the 
gradual integration of Pacific States into the global economy, in conformity with their political choices 
and development priorities. The Agreement also aimed to establish a free trade area between the 
Parties, along with appropriate dispute settlement and institutional arrangements.  
1.18.   As included in the factual presentat ion, the structure of the Parties merchandise trade in 2021 
showed that while EU trade was dominated by manufactures, manufactured products tended to 
dominate imports by the Pacific States, while their exports were concentrated in agriculture - 90% 
for the  Solomon Islands, 57% for Fiji, 47% for Samoa and around 23%  for PNG, and fuels and 
mining products which accounted for 41% of PNG's exports. Bilateral trade between PNG and the 
EU were most especially  concentrated in  fuels and mining products. In 2021 th e EU ranked first as 
a source of imports for the Solomon Islands, sixth for Fiji, ninth for PNG and 13th for Samoa. The EU 
was the largest export market for PNG and the Solomon Islands, and the 11th and 20th largest market 
respectively for Fiji and Samoa.  
1.19.   Since 2009 when PNG became the first P arty to ratify the Agreement  and the notification of 
provisional application submitted by the EU , PNG  and Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands joined in 
2018 and 2020.  In 2020, six other Pacific countries , as stated by the EU , had formally expressed 
their intent to exceed to the Agreement , namely Tonga, Timor -Leste, Tuvalu, Niue, Vanuatu, and 
the Federated States of Micronesia. Coordination amongst the Parties took place at the annual Trade 
Committee meeting which met at the senior official leve l and nine meetings had taken place already, 
the latest one in Samoa in February  2024.  
1.20.   The Pacific Parties to the Agreement took the opportunity to acknowledge the support of the 
EU through the prize program of the 11th EDF (European Development Fund)  which was supporting 
Pacific Parties and observers in their accession efforts but also in the implementation of national 
implementation plan s of action. They looked forward to working  with the EU including under the 
Samoa Agreement to broaden the scope of the Agreement and to support the sustainable 
development of the Pacific States. In closing, they assured the Members of their support for the 
procedures of the Transparency Mechanism of the WTO.  
1.21.   The representative of the United States  thanked all the Parties for the updates provided.  
1.22.   The representative of Australia  thanked the EU and Samoa for their statements and noted the 
complementary nature of the Agreement and the PACER  Plus Agreement that would be considered 
under item 9.1. He noted with interest the potential future accessions to the Agreement and looked 
forward to further consideration s in the Committee.  
1.23.   The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked the Parties for participating in the 
transparency exercise and wished them best of luck in implementing the Agreement. He also looked 
forward to presenting the UK's agreement with the Pacific States later during the year.   
1.24.   The representative of Türkiye  thanked the Part ies for their presentations and for their reply 
to Türkiye’s question regarding small and medium sized enterprises.  
1.25.   The Chair noted the  consideration of the goods aspect of the Economic Partnership Agreement 
between the European Union and the Pacific State s, had allowed the Committee to clarify a number 
of questions and conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the 
Transparency Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to WT/REG302/M/1 • WT/REG408/M/1 • WT/REG409/M/1  
 
- 4 - 
 
  forward submissions in w riting to the Secretariat by 15 April 2024 and the Parties were asked to 
submit replies in writing by no later than 29 April 2024. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the 
Transparency Mechanism all written submissions, as well as minutes of the meeting woul d be 
circulated promptly, in all WTO official languages, and made available in the WTO database on RTAs.  
1.26.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
__________