Tonga's Paulo Kautoke to take up WTO post in Geneva [1]
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 13:39. Updated on Saturday, May 3, 2014 - 20:57.
Trade negotiations between the small island states of the Pacific and the developed countries of the world remain very complex and challenging, said Tonga's Paulo Kautoke the new Pacific Trade Representative at the World Trade Organisation office in Geneva, Switzerland.
Paulo who is still with Tonga's Ministry of Labour, Commerce and Industries, is preparing to move on and take up his new post on October 1. He believes that Tonga did the right thing by joining the World Trade Organisation, and said that in Geneva he will be responsible for raising the interests of island states on trade issues within the WTO.
Paulo has been the Secretary for Tonga's Ministry of Labour, Commerce and Industries since 1999, and was involved with Tonga's accession to the WTO on July 27, 2007. He also worked with the negotiation of a number of trade agreements such as the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement PICTA, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations PACER and the Economic Partnerships Agreement EPA, between Pacific Islands Forum countries and the European Union.
European trade
Paulo said that the EPA negotiation is very difficult because the EU wanted free trade between EU countries and Pacific Island Forum countries, "but the problem is because we have very little to trade with Europe. When we are talking about trade, we are not talking only about goods, it also include services and investment. If we open up our market to the EU, they have a lot to trade with us, but we have very little to trade with them."
Paulo said that fish was one product that we could export to Europe, but the EU was demanding that there should be no Access Fees to island states' fishing water, and there should be only one Trade Agreement between the Pacific Islands Forum countries and the EU, Australia and New Zealand.
"In fact that is why the negotiation has taken so long because with our lack of resources we can't keep the negotiation running in two fronts, on PACER with Australia and New Zealand, and the EPA with the EU. We can only do one at a time."
He said that the EPA negotiation had been further complicated because, "the Caribbean countries have signed a similar Free Trade Agreement with the EU, agreeing to all the things that we are still negotiating on; and secondly, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, have moved out and signed a free trade agreement with the EU, leaving the rest of the small island states to negotiate their own trade deal with the EU."
The EPA negotiation will continue in Europe in September and the three issues that are paramount are the access fees to island states territorial waters, a Seasonal Workers scheme with the EU, similar to the one with New Zealand and Australia, and Aid for Trade.
Paulo said that Aid for Trade is an agenda of the WTO for developed countries to help with the development of developing countries on the construction of essential infrastructure such as roads, harbours and airports.
"The USA and Japan have agreed to that Aid for Trade idea, and the EU have already earmarked a billion euros for such a scheme, and we have been negotiating for that."
Paulo will be the third Pacific Islander to hold the post of a Pacific Trade Representative at the WTO office in Geneva. The first was 'Ana Fusipala 'Ata'ata, then a Solomon Islander. Paulo Kautoke take up the post on October 1.