Streamlining Trade for Economic Growth: Pacific Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy

The Pacific Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy -developed with World Bank support - is designed to assist Pacific Island Forum (PIF) members in implementing national trade facilitation reforms. These reforms aim to reduce administrative barriers-such as excessive documentation, complex border procedures, and inefficient regulations-that increase costs and delays in trade, thereby hindering economic development.

Boosting access to markets

The strategy seeks to enhance access to both regional and international markets for goods and services produced by Pacific people. This is achieved through trade facilitation reforms and capacity-building initiatives.

Such barriers create significant obstacles for Forum Island Countries, distancing them from each other's markets and the global marketplace. Addressing these barriers is essential for advancing the Blue Pacific Narrative, a vision that emphasizes the importance of a shared identity and purpose among Pacific nations to promote the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people.

Inclusive trade facilitation

The strategy recognizes that trade facilitation reforms should benefit all traders equitably. However, surveys conducted by the World Bank among over 1,500 cross-border trading firms in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu revealed that women traders face unique challenges. The strategy, therefore, aims to address these disparities and ensure that trade becomes more beneficial to everyone.

Read more about the five-year action plan (2020-2025) that aims to streamline trade processes, enhance economic integration, and boost the Pacific region's economic potential. Download the strategy below.

This work was supported by the World Bank with funding from the Trade Facilitation Support Program (TFSP). The TFSP is funded by nine donor partners: Australia, Canada, the European Commission, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This initiative provides assistance to countries seeking to align their trade practices with the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA).