Question 1

What's the trade agreement signed between the European Union (EU) and the Pacific member states?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

I would like to download a copy of the EU Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

Accepted Answer

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

Question 3

Is my country a party to the EU Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)? If so, what are the expected benefits?

Accepted Answer

There are four Pacific parties to the EPA. They are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands.

Nine Pacific states have become observers to the EPA after formally notifying the EU of their intention to accede to the Agreement. They are Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Republic of the  Marshall Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

A number of EPA observers have completed or are in the process of undertaking a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) managed by the SPIRIT project to facilitate and progress the sovereign national readiness processes leading to the formal notification to the EU on their accession to the EPA. Observers have also sought technical assistance on the review of their Market Access Offers (MAO) to facilitate their bilateral negotiations with the EU on their accession to the EPA.

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 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

Question 4

How many Pacific countries are parties to the EU Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement?

Accepted Answer

There are currently four Pacific parties to the EPA. 
(i) Fiji
(ii) Papua New Guinea
(iii) Samoa
(iv) Solomon Islands

As of January 2026, nine Pacific states (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Niue, Republic of the  Marshall Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) have become observers with their formal expression of intent to the European Union to accede to the EU Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement.

The SPIRIT project is working closely with the four parties to implement the EPA and realise the expected tangible trade and development related benefits of the Agreement. The SPIRIT project is also supporting the nine observers in their national preparedness processes to accede to the EPA. This includes conducting cost-benefit analyses and reviewing market access offers to the EU to support their domestic processes and bilateral negotiations with the EU as well as increasing awareness among government officials, the private sector or economic operators,  and other non-state actors.

Further, the observers' trade and investment laws need to reviewed and amended for realignment with the EPA, and where necessary, to ensure that these are fit for purpose for these countries to effectively trade under the EPA.

SUMMARY

There are fifteen countries in the Pacific-ACP group.

Pacific EPA Parties
Fiji
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands

Pacific EPA Observers
Cook Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Kiribati
Niue
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

Other
Nauru
Palau

Out of the 15 PACP States, 13 are IEPA parties and observers. The number of EPA Pacific parties is expected to increase from 4 to at least 11 over the next 18 months.

Question 5

How many member states are there in the EU? Please list the countries.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

How many Pacific ACP states are there. Please list the countries.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 7

Why do you refer to Pacific countries as Pacific ACP states?

Accepted Answer

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) replaced the Trade Chapter of the Cotonou Agreement (and its successor Agreement, the Samoa 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 Samoa Agreement.

Question 8

I'm interested to learn about the EU trade cooperation programmes in the Pacific. Please provide the details.

Accepted Answer

For more information, please click the following links:
SPIRIT Project: https://www.pacificeutrade.org/spiritproject (PIFS)
SAFE Pacific Project: https://www.pacificeutrade.org/safeproject (SPC and PIFS)
IMPACT Project: https://www.pacificeutrade.org/impactproject (UNCTAD)
PEUMP Programme: https://www.pacificeutrade.org/peump
https://peump.dev/home (SPC, FFA, USP, SPREP)
FISH4ACP: https://www.fao.org/fish4acp/en (FAO)
Upcoming programme:
Pacific Trade and Sustainable Development (Pac-TSD) Programme (PIFS and ITC)

Ratu Sukuna Road, Nasese, Suva, Fiji

(679) 331-2600

info@pacificeutrade.org

Frequently asked questions