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PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/313

TRADE POLICY REVIEW:

Market opening and deregulatory measures would promote a more diversified and efficient economy

Since its last review, Fiji has undertaken some trade-related reforms and has liberalized and rationalized its foreign investment regime, reforms that are seen as integral to Fiji’s economic priorities of a developing, efficient and competitive open economy to promote export-led growth, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Fiji.

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The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government, will be the basis for the Trade Policy Review (TPR) by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO.

Growth has been erratic and generally sluggish, averaging less than 1% annually since 2003. There are doubts on the economic benefits of Fiji's expanded network of bilateral and regional agreements; some tax incentives have dubious economic merit; and significant trade and other impediments remain to the efficient allocation of resources, such as government intervention, state-ownership, public and private monopolies and a general lack of competition.

The report notes than further market opening and deregulatory measures in key sectors would facilitate adjustment toward a more diversified and efficient economy. It also says that the speed at which the economy recovers will hinge in the interim Government's ability to meet economic challenges like restructuring of the economy to improve productivity and competitiveness, as well as on making urgent political reforms.

The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Fiji, will be the basis for the second TPR of Fiji by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 25 and 27 March 2009.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

• Secretariat report
  > Contents and summary observations
  > Economic environment
  > Trade and investment regimes
  > Trade policies and practices by measure
  > Trade policies by sector
  > Appendix tables
    
• Government report
    

Note  back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Schedule of forthcoming reviews  back to top

European Communities: 6 and 8 April 2009
Mozambique: 22 and 24 April 2009
Solomon Islands: 6 and 8 May 2009

SEE ALSO    > Full list of previous TPRs

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