Australia to stay tariff-free for Pacific Islands struggling with aid cuts, says foreign minister

SYDNEY: Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has pledged to keep tariff-free access for Pacific Island goods, after Fiji was hit by a 32% U.S. tariff, in a speech positioning Australia as a reliable partner to the region amid global aid cuts.

Australia is the region’s largest aid donor and “a partner the Pacific can count on”, Wong said in Suva on Tuesday, her first international speech since the centre-left Labor government was re-elected in May.

“Forty years of tariff-free access into Australia has helped contribute to the prosperity of the Pacific. And I can promise you today, that will not change,” she said at the headquarters of the Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s diplomatic bloc.

Fiji’s main exports include bottled water, sugar and fish.

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A transport hub for the aid-reliant region that sits strategically between the United States and Asia, Fiji was previously courted by Washington and Beijing for security ties and infrastructure assistance.

Vanuatu was hit with a 22% U.S. tariff, while Nauru, population 11,000, drew a 30% tariff. Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, had raised concerns about the U.S. aid freeze in Washington in February.

“The Pacific is facing growing challenges, from climate change, cuts to global aid and rules under strain,” said Wong, who will also travel to Vanuatu and Tonga this week.

Australia has pledged a record A$2.1 billion ($1.35 billion) in development assistance to the Pacific Islands, she said.

“Recognising the impact of global aid cuts, we have reprioritised our development assistance to dedicate 75 cents of every Australian development dollar to support our region,” she said.

China is the second-largest donor country to the Pacific Islands, and has sought increasing policing ties in the region, which Australia sees as a security threat.