PACER Plus facilitates the cross-border movement of skilled workers, such as corporate transfers for executives, senior managers, specialists as well as contractual service suppliers, and business visitors.

It applies to measures regulating the movement of natural persons (MNP)¹ on a temporary basis into a member country, and builds on rights and obligations established in both the Trade in Services and Investment Chapters of the Agreement.

Scope

PACER Plus recognises the right of a member to regulate entry of natural persons of another member nation, providing the process does not nullify or impair benefits accruing under the Agreement. The Agreement does not create any obligations on citizenship, nationality, residence or employment on a permanent basis.

Pacific island country commitments demonstrate increased awareness of the importance of attracting skilled service suppliers to promote more productive and competitive domestic industries.

MNP commitments by Pacific island country World Trade Organization (WTO) members (such as Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu) go beyond their commitments in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Commitments by Pacific Island countries that are non-WTO Members (such as Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Tuvalu) are equivalent to, or go further than, those made under the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA).

See Schedule of MNP commitments by each PACER Plus Member.