Melanesian Spearhead Group

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The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Preferential Trade Agreement is a trade treaty governing the four melanesian states of Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and recently, Fiji.

The MSG Trade Agreement signed in 1993 is a sub-regional trade treaty established to foster and accelerate economic development through trade relations and provide a Political framework for regular consultations and review on the status of the Agreement, with a view to ensuring that trade both in terms of exports and imports is undertaken in a genuine spirit of the Melanesian Solidarity and is done on a Most Favoured National (MFN) basis.

The MSG Trade Agreement is GATT consistent and has recently been approved and accorded recognition by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Committee on Regional Arrangements to be compatible and meeting the requirements of Article 24 of the GATT/WTO Agreement.

This Agreement covers over 180 tariff lines of the Harmonised Systems of Customs Tariff Code and is consistent to agreed trade rules and obligations.

Negotiations are held regularly between the leaders of the four countries to consider the progress and developments of the MSG Trade Agreement.

The MSG Trade Agreement is by and large, the most effective sub-regional economic cooperation arrangement between the four countries and is likely to include issues of Intellectual Property Rights and Trade-in-Services as we approach the new millennium.

Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji are members of the WTO. The Government of Vanuatu is also currently negotiating its accession with member governments of the Multilateral Trading System for membership into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The MSG countries have the potential to trade in over 200 products free of fiscal duty. The MSG countries are also spearheading the MSG Free Trade Area as a nucleus for progressing trade liberalisation in the region, as a forerunner for a proposed Forum Island Country (FIC) Trade Agreement.

1 Members
2 History
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Members

Melanesian Spearhead Group members

Papua New Guinea (1993)
Solomon Islands (1993)
Vanuatu (1993)
Fiji (1998)

[edit] History

The MSG Trade Agreement entered into effect on 22 July 1993 through the efforts of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. At the 6th Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Trade and Economic Officials’ Meeting on 16 April 1997 in Honiara, the Fiji delegation indicated its willingness to accede to the MSG Trade Agreement. This initiative was endorsed at the 1997 MSG Leaders Summit. Fiji became a formal member of the MSG Trade Agreement on 14 April 1998.

The 9th MSG Trade & Economic Officials meeting was held in Papua New Guinea on 29th & 30th November 2000. This meeting saw the acceptance of the expansion of the MSG Product Schedule tariff headings from four digit to six digits, thereby facilitating MSG trade by removing the ambiguity in product identification at Customs points of entry. The commitment among members to progress the MSG Trade Agreement towards WTO compliance, via negative listing by 2003/2005, was also reinforced.