WELLINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A unique trade and development deal, that will lower barriers while raising living standards, creating jobs and increasing exports by Pacific Island countries, has taken a step closer, New Zealand Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker said on Thursday.
The Tariff Amendment Bill, or the Bill on Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) strikes a balance between delivering lower barriers and greater certainty for New Zealand businesses, while helping the Pacific Island countries to open their economies to trade at a sustainable pace, Parker said.
The bill is a key step towards New Zealand ratifying PACER Plus in coming months.
"Pacific Island countries are our nearest neighbors and, with almost 296,000 Pacific peoples living in New Zealand, we share strong personal ties," he said, adding New Zealand, together with the 10 other signatories to PACER Plus, are all focused on ratifying as soon as possible to bring this agreement into force.
Signatories are being supported with a range of tools and financial assistance as they work towards ratification, the minister said, adding the other signatories are: Australia, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
