Trade Policy 2011.

The Trade Policy is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The long-term goal of this Trade Policy is to promote export-led economic growth, self-sufficiency and sustainable development, with the ultimate objective of creating employment, alleviating hardship and raising the living standards of the citizens.
The capacity of local producers and subsistence farmers will be increased to meet the local food demand. Food storage will be strengthened for future use through processing bananas, breadfruit, cassava and taro into flour and chips.
Agricultural production will be increased through sustainable land management.
The government support will be given to smallholders such as local producers and subsistence farmers to ensure their self-sufficiency as well as to create employment in the agriculture, livestock, fisheries, tourism and other relevant sectors. Thereby, research and extension services will be provided to farmers. The participation of civil society organizations will be promoted.
In order to achieve economic growth and development, export competitiveness will be developed in agriculture, fisheries and tourism and the private sector. Safety of fish and fish products and other food products will be ensured to increase international trade by meeting the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements of import and export countries, particularly the European Union and the United States. Strategies will be developed to identify niche markets for the traditional and commercial crops with the assistance of the relevant international organizations in order to reduce the dependence on imported food and increase export. To this end, capacity building will be enhanced to meet the demands of the local and overseas markets. An export processing zone will be established to boost the export of various goods and services. Quality infrastructure will be developed to promote trade in tourism, fisheries and the agricultural sectors. Moreover, the forestry sector will be developed especially the woodwork industry. The development of the private sector will be ensured through local and foreign direct investment in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, human resources development and other supporting services in order to produce value added, quality and competitive goods and services both for the local and the export market. Micro- and small-scale enterprises will be promoted by facilitating their access to markets. Furthermore, a legislation on intellectual property rights will be developed to protect traditional knowledge, biodiversity and genetic resources. Research and development will be strengthened through improved coordination of information sharing at national and state level. Education system will be developed to increase its contribution to economic growth. To this end, the Technical and Vocational Education Training Centres will be established to develop the skills that are needed in the economy as well as to export the surplus skills and earn remittances.
Urgent and targeted measures will be taken to protect the environment and minimize the impact of climate change on the trade activities. In this regard, the Office of Environment and Emergency Management shall monitor the developments at global level and ensure that trade and economic endeavour will be undertaken in a sustainable manner.
The National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) was established by the Executive Order No. 34 of the President to strengthen the collaboration between the related sectors. The Secretary of the Department of Resources and Development serves as the secretariat to the NTFC and shall be responsible for coordinating development and Trade Policy issues relating to the three key priority sectors such as marine, agriculture and tourism. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Affairs shall be responsible for establishing or upgrading a Competent Authority to ensure food safety of imported products in accordance with the requirements of countries. The responsibility of the Office of Environment and Emergency Management is to strengthen climate change adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk management and environmental protection to prevent the negative impacts on trade. The National Oceanic Resources Management Authority shall monitor fisheries and oceanic resources to obtain the best value from these resources. The specialized sub-committees may be established by the Vice President of NTFC to deal with technical issues and formulate plans on issues such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism/services/investment, market access, trade-related issues and Aid for Trade. The capacity of the Trade and Investment Division will be strengthened to ensure effective monitoring of the implementation of this policy on an annual basis.