A COMPREHENSIVE Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will provide the private sector with predictability and transparency in the application of trade rules, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat deputy general secretary, Andie Fong Toy said.
This was because it will be a treaty that will bind the parties for an indefinite period of time, Ms Fong Toy said while speaking at an EU-Pacific Business Forum held at the African, Caribbean and Pacific Ministerial meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu this week.
“Having clear trade-related rules increases transparency and predictability and ensures that there is no ‘shifting of the goals’ and both parties are on the same page on a particular issue.”
She added that the EPA could offer real advantages to the private sector when compared to the other trading arrangements such as the Generalised System of Preferences and the “Everything But Arms” schemes that most Pacific ACP countries use for their exports to Europe.