INTERIM ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The following communication, dated 5 June 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegations of the United Kingdom and the Pacific States (Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands).

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Questions from Thailand

General Provisions

1.1.  Paragraph 3.1: "…As in the EU-Pacific Agreement customs duties are to be levied only once at the point of entry into the Parties; duties paid for products imported by a Pacific State whose import tariff has not been eliminated in all of the Pacific States, shall be refunded upon re-export (Article 15)."

        Referring to paragraph 3.1, under the IEPA UK-Pacific States Agreement, if a Pacific State imports products from another Pacific State for only domestic consumption and such products have been subject to import duty, can the importer claim a refund of the duty?

Reply from the United Kingdom:

Article 15 (2) of the Agreement provides that if an originating good from the UK is imported for domestic consumption by Pacific State Party A, which has removed customs duties on that good; and that good first enters through Pacific State Party B, which still imposes customs duties on that good, then "any customs duty paid upon importation in a Pacific State shall be refunded fully and without delay when the goods leave". 

Rules of origin

1.2.  Paragraph 3.17: "Cumulation in the Pacific States may apply for rice (tariff heading 1006) and products in Annex IX18 only when the materials used in the manufacture of products in the Pacific State are originating or the working or processing takes place in a Pacific State or any other ACP member of an Economic Partnership Agreement."

a._        How many types of cumulation commitment are there under the UK‑Pacific States IEPA Agreement? Are they different from IEPA EU‑Pacific States?

Reply from the United Kingdom:

The relevant treaty wording of the UK-Pacific States IEPA closely reflects the corresponding wording of the EU-Pacific States IPA, and accordingly the variety of possibilities for cumulation under the UK IEPA closely reflects the position under the EU IPA. The main difference is that the UK IEPA substitutes references to the UK for references to the EU, and refers to the EU as a cumulation country. Accordingly, for production in the Pacific States, there is provision for cumulation of materials, and of working and processing, with the UK, the EU, the Pacific States, the OCT, and ACP States.

b._        Under IEPA UK- Pacific States, establishing the cumulation commitment by allowing a Pacific State or other ACP member to import rice (HS 1006) from other parties to be used for manufacturing process, which eligible to receive benefits from the agreement, is this also similar to the IEPA EU-Pacific States Agreement?

Reply from the United Kingdom:

The wording from para. 3.17 of the report, quoted in question 1.2, paraphrases Article 4.7 of Protocol II to the UK IEPA, which closely reflects Article 4.7 of Protocol II to the EU IPA. Accordingly, and broadly in line with answer 1.2(a), the possibilities for cumulation involving rice under the UK IEPA closely reflect the possibilities under the EU IPA.

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