The United States (U.S.) Ambassador to Fiji, H.E. Joseph Cella,
Officials of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
CEO, Investment Fiji,
Acting CEO, Biosecurity Authority of Fiji,
Fijian Trade Commissioner to North America,
Officials of Trade Facilitation Agencies,
Fijian Business Representatives,
Participants and presenters connected virtually,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all.
It is a pleasure to be here this morning, for this very important Workshop organised by the U.S. Embassy.
I had made a commitment to Ambassador Cella to attend the Workshop, when he had first informed me about it last month, during the Fiji Forward Roundtable discussions.
I am appreciative of Ambassador Cella’s receptiveness to our request for organising an awareness Workshop for our Fijian Exporters. The intention was to build capacity and create awareness for our exporters on the mandatory requirements for exporting their products to the U.S.
The remarks that I will be delivering today, intends to kick-start discussions and challenge you all to explore innovative solutions to the current impediments. The Workshop has provided you with a platform to share experiences, seek and provide guidance and devise strategies to facilitate and boost market access of Fijian Made goods into the U.S and vice-versa.
We also see this as an opportunity to forge strong partnerships between our business communities and trade facilitation agencies, to ensure food safety, security and traceability of supply chains remains paramount. At the same time, enhancing market access through the elimination of non-tariff barriers, to encourage competition and better choices for our consumers.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since independence, Fiji has shared a mutually beneficial economic relationship with the U.S. This relationship has grown over the years on the basis of mutual respect of our sovereignties, economic opportunities created from trade, foreign direct investments, tourism and remittance.
The U.S. has remained Fiji’s number one export destination over the years, with mineral water, tuna, mahogany, sugar and kava as the main products exported. However, there still remains a lot of untapped market opportunities for Fiji to explore.
The Fijian Trade Commission, which was established in Los Angeles in 1997, has now been relocated to San Francisco to realign to the Government’s vision. I urge participants to engage with our Trade Commissioner, Praneet Singh, for any assistance required to tap into the North American market.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fiji has been part of the U.S. Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Scheme since 1976, which has enabled Fijian exporters to get duty-free entry for eligible products into the U.S. market. There has been a 46 percent increase in the value of goods exported to the U.S. under GSP in 2019, when compared to 2015. This increase is generally comprised of products such as mineral water, spices, prepared food stuff and vegetables.
However, of the 3,000 plus tariff lines that provides duty free access under GSP, only 128 tariff lines are actually exported to the U.S. To our Fijian exporters, there is so much potential for you to export under the GSP. We need to look at increasing the amount of taro, turmeric and ginger exports to the U.S., duty free.
We need to ask,
Where exactly the problem is?
Why are we not capitalising on the benefits offered under the GSP for these and other agro-products?
It is time we reflect on where the lag in the supply is, and what we as Government agencies need to do to ensure opportunities are maximised.
It is also true that the top ten products exported to the U.S., such as kava, canned or fresh or chilled tuna, skipjack and bonito, mahogany and cane sugar does not even qualify for duty free treatment under the GSP. We need to see these products included in the list of products that qualify for duty free treatment. This is why the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, with the assistance of the U.S. Embassy, is working on including such products in the GSP scheme.
I am also pleased to inform that Fiji is currently deliberating on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the U.S. to advance its bilateral relations. The Framework will provide a forum to meet and discuss issues of mutual interest with the objective of improving cooperation and enhancing opportunities for trade and investment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is a large scale of trans-boundary challenges that we confront today, such as climate change, natural disasters, environmental degradation and pandemics. These have caused significant shifts in global trade patterns, production chains and value chains.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives and livelihoods, and aggravated the already existing difficult global challenges. No country is immune from it.
Many say the best way to save livelihoods is to resume our economic activities more quickly. But opening up hastily, will be more disruptive to businesses and workers, then a well-planned approach. Hence, our aim has always been to resume safely, progressively and sustainably.
As stated by the Honourable Prime Minister on Sunday, during his address to the nation, and I quote – “today marks the start of a new normal to adapt to the new world we now live in” – unquote. That is why we need to double down on mutual cooperation and contribute actively to shaping new norms that will govern our future.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Fijian Government continues to invest in our intangible strengths and what distinguishes us from the rest of the world. We are working tirelessly on the key enablers of our economy and above all, capacitating our people and businesses.
We have continued to facilitate traders through our national carrier, Fiji Airways, with scheduled freight flights to key destinations like New Zealand, Australia and United States. The inbound freight flights in return carries consignments for businesses and other essential medical supplies. In fact, freight flights to the U.S. is the cheaper than Australia. This is an opportunity for exporters to capitalise on the U.S. route.
This is why this workshop is timely. If anything, the pandemic has taught us how to improvise and look for innovative solutions to boost confidence in trade, keep supply chains flowing and avoid superfluous trade barriers.
There has also been much discussions regarding the market access of breadfruit and papaya into the U.S., conditional upon Fiji’s implementation of an irradiation facility.
This facility very expensive and is economically unfeasible to implement at this time. This is one area where by improvising and being innovative can open up pathways for these products. Fiji has been successfully exporting breadfruit and papaya to New Zealand and Australia using the High Temperature Forced Air (HTFA) facility.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we manage our bilateral challenges, we must also keep a close watch on the multilateral trends that will impact our economic competitiveness and continued success.
The consensus on the benefits of globalisation and free trade, and the need for a multilateral approach to global challenges, has eroded. There was a time when you did not really have to make an argument for free trade. Today, there is an active debate all over the world.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) may have not kept up with the times in order to adequately address the pressing concerns of today, and to recognise that times have changed. We recognise that the WTO is not perfect. However, we believe it is even more important now to recognise that the WTO and free trade has underpinned global stability, growth and prosperity since its establishment.
Fiji still views the rules-based multilateral system as key to maintaining economic dynamism, and remain committed to multilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I hope today’s discussions can boost our understanding of what is required from our businesses and the importance of maintaining product standards. I hope it also helps you all to identify the opportunities present to improve productivity, competitiveness and identify new market access pathways.
So, let me conclude by reiterating the need for investing greater efforts in unlocking the potential of the U.S. market. We can begin by achieving the low-hanging fruits such as, market access for breadfruit and papaya and strengthening our supply chains.
I wish you all a very constructive and positive discussion. I look forward to receiving the outcomes of your deliberations today.
Vinaka vakalevu.