Jeremy Ellero, chercheur associé au LARJE, a participé à la conférence « European Society for Oceanists 2018 Conference » à Cambridge du 7 au 10 décembre 2018.

He submitted a paper to the session « Landscapes of Power: New Ways of Seeing and Being in Te Moana Nui a Kiwa » for the conference « European Society for Oceanists 2018 Conference ». The topic was « The French Pacific territories and free trade: what does it mean to be independent in 2018? ».

On November 4th 2018, New Caledonia will decide with a referendum on its independence from France, this could impact the perspectives of economic integration within the Oceania region. On the one hand, the low level of development and narrow markets of the Small Islands States prevent commercial opportunities. On the other hand, the level of Gross Domestic Product in Australia and New Zealand combined with the stability of their economies offer a trade potential. A wider opening of the French territories in their environment then seems perfectly paradoxical. Many Pacific islands are seeking to export labor for seasonal employments. Conversely, the high value-added products of the Australian and New Zealand industry are likely to destabilize the economies of the French collectivities. But more significantly, the integration of the French territories in their environment induces a modernization of the growth fundamentals (French financial transfers, salary indexation, currency overvaluation, trade barrier) and a homogenization of the level of economic development of the Pacific islands. Therefore, free trade shall be perceived locally as a first step towards regional integration in other areas: institutional, normative, monetary, academical, military, and scientific research.

https://www.pacific-studies.net/conferences/public.php?confID=3

Cette recherche a fait l’objet de publications antérieures. Le lien ici : https://unc.nc/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/LivreUNC_Ldef100.pdf