The EU Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was ratified by the EU Parliament in 2009. At this stage, it covers trade in goods only. It provides duty-free and quota-free market access for Pacific exporters on all products. The Pacific parties are allowed to protect their sensitive products and industries by maintaining tariffs at the border. However, depending on how each Party member state negotiated its market access offer to the EU, there's a time period of 15 - 20 years to slowly reduce these tariffs to zero. There's also a unique market access provision called global sourcing on fisheries exports that is given only to the Pacific region. In a standard trade agreement, the two parties would restrict the sourcing of raw materials from third parties to promote the maximisation of the trade benefits or advantages between and among the parties themselves. However, in the EPA, the EU allows the Pacific parties to source raw fish from outside of the Pacific and EU countries, process them onshore and then export them to the EU duty-free and quota-free. The objective is to attract foreign investment into the Pacific parties to set up manufacturing and processing facilities, increase employment opportunities and improve livelihoods for Pacific families, increase tax revenues for governments to provide better public services, and grow the economy.

Click the link below to download a copy of the EU Pacific EPA.

There are four Pacific parties to the EPA. They are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. Five more have formally notified the EU of their intention to accede to the EPA. They are Tonga, Timor Leste, Tuvalu, Niue and Vanuatu. A few more are also in the process of undertaking a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) undertaken by the SPIRIT project to facilitate the sovereign national processes leading to the formal notification to the EU on their accession to the EPA and the subsequent submission of their Market Access Offer (MAO). The EU – Pacific EPA opens up trade in goods with the EU. The agreement includes duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market for all goods coming from EPA Pacific states asymmetric and gradual opening of their markets to EU goods, taking full account of differences in levels of development and sensitive sectors exclusion of some sensitive sectors and products from liberalization on the Pacific side the possibility of Pacific States to reintroduce duties and quotas if imports from the EU disturb or threaten to disturb their local economies rules on technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures to help Pacific exporters meet EU import standards efficient customs procedures and enhanced co-operation between administrations improved rules of origin for processed fisheries products from the Pacific - the so-called "global sourcing" provision which is intended to boost job creation and development in the region.

There are four existing Pacific parties to the EPA. They are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. As of April 2023, five more countries (Tonga, Timor Leste, Tuvalu, Niue and Vanuatu) have formally written to the EU in Brussels, Belgium, to convey their intention to accede to the EPA. The SPIRIT project is working closely with the four parties to implement the EPA and realise the expected trade and development related benefits of the Agreement and the five observers in their national preparedness processes to accede to the EPA. This includes increasing awareness among government officials, the private sector or economic operators, and other non-state actors. Further, the observers' trade and investment laws also need to reviewed and amended, where necessary to ensure that these are fit for purpose for these countries to effectively trade under the EPA.

There are 27 member states in the European Union. Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden

There are fifteen countries in the Pacific-ACP group. Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Nauru Niue Palau Papua New Guinea Republic of the Marshall Islands Samoa Solomon Islands Timor Leste Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

The Pacific region is one of the three sub-regions of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), formerly the ACP, which was founded under the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. The partnership between the 79 members of the OACPS, on the one hand, and the 27 members of the EU, on the other, has its legal basis under the Cotonou Agreement, revised from its Lome Conventions in the earlier years. The OACPS and the EU are currently negotiating a successor partnership Agreement to the Cotonou Agreement - the Samoa Agreement, which aims to build on a transformative, modern partnership Agreement that will serve as a multilateral platform for political dialogue and economic and social cooperation. The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) replace the Trade Chapter of the Cotonou Agreement (and its successor Agreement). The term, Pacific-ACP states (PACPS) is derived from this historic partnership in the context of its alliance with the other two sub-regions in the Caribbean and Africa under the OACPS and, more importantly, the OACPS' collective partnership with the EU under the current Cotonou Agreement.

The EU's Access2Markets provides information businesses require to ensure their products or services are fit-for-market. More information is provided under this category.

In 2021, the following trade data captures the main exports from the four Pacific parties to the Agreement (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands) to the EU's 27 member states. (1) Papua New Guinea Total: EUR 926,795,468 (2) Solomon Islands Total: EUR 65,409,656 (3) Fiji Total: EUR 21,868,606 (4) Samoa Total: EUR 6,728,672

On the Access2Markets portal you can find information on tariffs and internal taxes that you have to pay for your product in the importing country, be it into the EU or to third countries. You can also find information on many other key areas of international trade that may be important for you, such as information on relevant rules of origin, trade agreements that the EU has in place with third countries, an indication of anti-dumping duties that might be temporarily in place, customs and import procedures, formalities and requirements, including samples of the necessary forms to be completed, the main trade barriers faced, etc. For companies that are not familiar with international trade, the Access2Markets portal also provides more detailed guidance, such as detailed step-by-step guides for trading goods and services, explanations of key trade concepts, useful contact information for companies, company success stories, and latest news on trade-related issues. Source: Access2Markets

Yes, the Access2Markets portal includes information about the rules of origin of all EU trade agreements and of the unilateral preferential system, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). For Pacific countries that are not yet party to the EPA, if they fall under the classification of a Least Developed Country (or LDC), they can benefit from the EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) Initiative. If they don't, then they fall under the less favourable GSP. With a number of Pacific countries due to graduate from LDC to Developing Country in a few years, a number of these countries have seen it most feasible to accede to the EPA to maintain the favourable market access conditions under the EBA. Source: Access2Markets

For the EU market: Access2Markets covers all EU legislation your product needs to comply with for its customs clearance and/or placing it on the EU market. It also covers EU rules for organic production of agricultural products and rules for the European "Eco-label". For non-EU markets: Access2Markets covers procedures and over the border measures for over 130 export markets. You can check which export markets are covered in My Trade Assistant. Source: Access2Markets

First, consult the rules of origin checklist. If you still have doubts, ask your national customs authority. If you want to be absolutely certain, apply for a binding origin information decision (BOI) from the relevant authority in an EU country. Once issued, BOIs are binding for the customs authorities in all EU countries. Note that you will still be required to provide proof of origin. Under the EPA for the Pacific region, the rules of origin, which determines whether your product satisfies the requirements to qualify as originating in your country, is provided under PROTOCOL II Concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation.

The Access2Markets website is an interactive, free online service where EU companies can find information a) on import conditions for the EU Market, b) on export conditions for over 130 non-EU countries as well as c) information on intra-EU trade. For imports into the EU the Access2Markets portal covers all non-EU countries. For EU exports, the portal delivers data for over 120 non-EU markets, which represent 90% of the EU´s export value for goods. Click on the drop-down menu to check your country's market access requirements. Source: Access2Markets

To retrieve the rules of origin for your product please launch a search via My Trade Assistant search form. Rules of origin will be listed amongst the search results. Proof of origin is certified through the Movement Certificate EUR.1. These are available from your customs authorities and guides you on the steps on providing supporting documentation to prove to the EU authorities that your exports are eligible to qualify for the duty-free and quota-free market access under the EU Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement. Why is proof of origin important? In certain situations, an exporter may import Product X from Country Y, outside the EU and ACP countries, simply change the packaging and labelling, and export this product to the EU, claiming its origins are from the Pacific. These countries outside the Agreement are called third parties because they do not qualify for the favourable market access provided only for the Pacific parties. Source: Access2Markets

There are several ways to define the classification code for your product: (1) if you have imported or exported the same product already you will find the code on the customs documents (2) if not, you can use the A2M portal and browse the product tree, for imports this is the EU nomenclature (CN) and for exports it is the Harmonised System of the non-EU country (3) to be entirely sure you can ask the customs office of the importing country for a Binding Tariff Information. Source: Access2Markets

Excise duties are applied at national level and payable upon release for consumption. If the product is imported into an EU country but transported to and supplied to another EU country, excise duties are due in the EU country where the products will eventually be consumed or used. Source: Access2Markets

VAT is paid in the country where the product is sold. Import duties, on the other hand, are paid when the products enter the EU customs territory. So, for example if the product arrives first in the Netherlands before reaching the final destination in France, import duties will be paid in the Netherlands, but VAT will be due in France. Source: Access2Markets

The first 6 digits of EU's combined nomenclature (CN) is the same as the first 6 HS digits. Only for the numbers after 6 digits the CN starts do deviate from the HS code for a more detailed categorisation – which helps us to give clear, detailed information on your product. Source: Access2Markets

The HS classification is uniform for all countries only through the first 6 digits. Any country may choose to further break down the 6-digit classification to more specifically describe a product. Eight digits is generally considered to be fully qualified for customs purposes, but some countries may require also 9, 10 or further digits to completely describe the specific good being imported. But the same 8-digit class can represent different products in different countries. For example, 2001.90.30 means “sweet corn” in the EU-27 classification and “beans” in the US classification. As a general rule, tariff nomenclatures should only be compared on the six digit level. However, if the version of the Harmonised System is deviating, there may be also limits for this comparison. Starting from the six digit level it is possible to match codes by comparing the goods' descriptions of the further subheadings. However, there are also certain cases in which goods may be classified differently in different customs areas. Source: Access2Markets

First, your country has to be approved to export fishery products to the EU. See information on the list of countries and the procedure. Second, your processing plant or factory vessel needs an approval to export to the EU. See the approved establishments list. Third, there are specific labelling rules for fishery products. Source: Access2Markets

Inspections can be done at any stage of the trade process. Please consult the product requirements section in the search results for information on inspections/checks for specific products. Source: Access2Markets

No. The EU is a customs union, so you only pay duties once, when your product first enters the EU customs territory. Source: Access2Markets

The information on rules of origin in the search results will also explain how importers have to prove the origin of the product they import. Source: Access2Markets

Use My Trade Assistant on Access2Markets. Fill in the ‘country from’, the ‘country to’ and the product code, and launch your search. The results will show information about the applicable duties. Source: Access2Markets

Unless stated otherwise, the tariff refers to the net weight, which is the weight of the goods themselves without packaging or containers of any kind. Source: Access2Markets

The product descriptions of the EU´s Combined Nomenclature (CN) are available in all 23 EU languages. The ones of the Harmonised System (HS) are available in English only. Source: Access2Markets

The TARIC (Integrated Tariff of the European Communities) code is designed to show the various rules applying to specific products when imported into the EU. This includes the provisions of the Harmonised System (HS) and the Combined Nomenclature (CN) but also additional provisions specified in Community legislation such as tariff suspensions, tariff quotas and tariff preferences, which exist for the majority of the Community’s trading partners. At import into the EU, the 10-digit TARIC code must be used in customs declarations. Source: Access2Markets

The Combined Nomenclature – laid down in the CN Regulation (2658/87) – is the EU's system for classifying traded goods. All goods imported into or exported from the EU must be classified for customs purposes. Each separate product is assigned a particular classification code. The Combined Nomenclature (CN) sets out the general rules for the classification of goods to an eight-digit level and is updated on a yearly basis. It is established on the basis of the Harmonised System (HS). The Combined Nomenclature shall comprise (a) the Harmonised System nomenclature (b) community subdivisions to that nomenclature, referred to as CN subheadings (c) preliminary provisions, additional section or chapter notes and footnotes relating to CN subheadings. Each CN subheading shall have an eight digit code number (a) the first six digits shall be the code numbers relating to the headings and subheadings of the Harmonised System nomenclature (b) the seventh and eighth digits shall identify the CN subheadings Source: Access2Markets

For food of animal origin – yes, in most cases. See the list of approved establishments. For food of non-animal origin –not necessarily. In many cases, the exporting business must simply be known to the importer and accepted as a supplier of food into the EU. For food containing plants or plant products covered by EU plant-health rules – no, but exporters must obtain a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national authorities in their country. Source: Access2Markets

Address: Level 6, Tappoo City Complex Corner of Scott & Usher Streets Suva Fiji. Telephone: (+679) 331 36 33 Fax: (+679) 330 03 70 Email: delegation-fiji@eeas.europa.eu delegation-fiji-media@eeas.europa.eu Website: www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/fiji_en Social media: www.facebook.com/DelegationOfTheEuropeanUnionForThePacific twitter.com/EUPasifika Office hours: Monday-Thursday: 08:30-12:00 and 12:45-16:30 Friday: 08:00-12:30 Head of mission: Mr. Sujiro Seam, Ambassador Click here to learn more.

There are 27 member states in the European Union. Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden

The EU's PRISE programme is worth EUR 37 million. PRISE stands for Pacific Regional Integration Support and covers four projects dealing with specific areas of interest to assist Pacific countries effectively implement the EPA, as parties; or to assist them in building their human and institutional capacities if and when they accede to the EPA. The four projects are: (1) SPIRIT project - Strengthening Pacific Intra-Regional and International Trade. Managed and implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). Click here to learn more. (2) SAFE project - Safe Agriculture and Trade Facilitation for Economic Integration in the Pacific. Managed and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Click here to learn more. (3) IMPACT project - Improving Pacific Islands Customs and Trade. Managed and implemented by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Click here to learn more. (4) PDEP project - Pacific Digital Economy Programme. Managed and implemented by UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). Click here to learn more.

The PEUMP programme is worth EUR 45 million and jointly funded by the EU and Sweden. PEUMP stands for Pacific EU Maritime Programme and promotes sustainable management and sound ocean governance through a holistic and multi-sectoral approach contributing to social, economic and environmental development in the Pacific, as well as biodiversity protection and promoting the sustainable use of fisheries and other marine resources. In the international trade context, the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) which is based in the Solomon Islands, manages and implements the fisheries market access component of the programme. This includes the following: (i) Establishment of a competent authority support unit to assist PACP government agencies meet sanitary market access requirements. (ii) Support for sanitary and IUU competent authorities to comply with applicable legislation allowing for market access. (iii) Assistance with fisheries development and national policies. (iv) Annual policy dialogue with the European Union. (v) Assistance to PACP to comply with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission conservation management measures, and to implement checklist-identified priorities. (vi) Building the capacity and engagement of the regional tuna industry association. (vii) Developing pilot projects for and providing technical 2assistance to small and medium enterprises in the sector. For more information, go to the PEUMP page.

There are fifteen countries in the Pacific-ACP group. Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Nauru Niue Palau Papua New Guinea Republic of the Marshall Islands Samoa Solomon Islands Timor Leste Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Pacific businesses need to pivot towards value-adding their exports into low-volume, high-value products that are complemented by strategic branding (organic, community, sustainability/eco-friendly) that will raise the value of these goods to premium price levels. Low-volume, high-value products are also easier to export via air freight, reaching consumers faster, and subject to negotiated air freight conditions, cheaper than the shipping option. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us important lessons. One of them is that e-commerce thrived during this challenging period. To build resilience into your business model, businesses need to consider having an online presence and being e-commerce compatible. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Trade Ministers endorsed the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap in August 2021, providing the political mandate for their member governments to take advantage of the untapped opportunities under migrating Pacific businesses from offline to online platforms. Click here to get a copy of the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap.

In 2021, the following trade data captures the main exports from the four parties to the Agreement (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands) to the EU's 27 member states. (1) Papua New Guinea Total: EUR 926,795,468 (2) Solomon Islands Total: EUR 65,409,656 (3) Fiji Total: EUR 21,868,606 (4) Samoa Total: EUR 6,728,672

There are four Pacific parties to the EPA. They are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. Five more have formally notified the EU of their intention to accede to the EPA. They are Tonga, Timor Leste, Tuvalu, Niue and Vanuatu. A few more are also in the process of undertaking a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) undertaken by the SPIRIT project to facilitate the sovereign national processes leading to the formal notification to the EU on their accession to the EPA and the subsequent submission of their Market Access Offer (MAO). The EU – Pacific EPA opens up trade in goods with the EU. The agreement includes duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market for all goods coming from EPA Pacific states asymmetric and gradual opening of their markets to EU goods, taking full account of differences in levels of development and sensitive sectors exclusion of some sensitive sectors and products from liberalization on the Pacific side the possibility of Pacific States to reintroduce duties and quotas if imports from the EU disturb or threaten to disturb their local economies rules on technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures to help Pacific exporters meet EU import standards efficient customs procedures and enhanced co-operation between administrations improved rules of origin for processed fisheries products from the Pacific - the so-called "global sourcing" provision which is intended to boost job creation and development in the region.

Melanesia (1) Fiji (2) Papua New Guinea (3) Solomon Islands (4) Vanuatu (5) Timor Leste (* is part of South East Asia but is also a member state of the Pacific-ACP group under the EU ACP Cotonou Agreement) Micronesia (1) Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) (2) Kiribati (3) Nauru (4) Palau (5) Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Polynesia (1) Cook Islands (2) Niue (3) Samoa (4) Tonga (5) Tuvalu

The EU grants 100% duty-free and quota-free access to all imports coming from Pacific EPA countries. As such, access to the EU market is permanent, full, and free for all products. Pacific EPA countries are given the flexibility not to open their markets fully, and are allowed to phase out or reduce their duties at the border partially and gradually as follows: Papua New Guinea voluntarily opened up its market to 88% of EU imports from day one (even if it would have benefitted from a transition period of 15 years). Fiji is opening up its market to 87% of imports from the EU over 15 years. Samoa opens up its market to 80% of imports from the EU over 20 years. Solomon Islands opens up its market to 83% of imports from the EU over 15 years. If imports of some EU goods into Pacific EPA countries suddenly surge, safeguards such as import quotas and the reintroduction of duties can be applied by Pacific EPA countries under certain circumstances to protect Pacific countries' sensitive industries.