On a quiet stretch of shoreline in Kiribati, sleek catamarans take shape by hand. Molds are developed, sanded, sealed. Fibreglass is laid with care. What emerges from KiriCraft Central Pacific’s workshop is not mass-produced machinery, but finely crafted vessels designed for open water.
For Michael Savins, Founder and CEO of KiriCraft Central Pacific, boatbuilding in Kiribati was never meant to be small or insular. From the beginning, his ambition was outward-looking: to prove that world-class marine manufacturing could come from a low-lying Pacific island nation better known internationally for its vulnerability to climate change than for high-end exports.
“The quality was never the issue,” Savins says. “Our boats have always been built to a very high standard. The challenge was getting them into the market on equal footing.”
That challenge, for years, partly came down to tariffs.
KiriCraft Central Pacific is a high-quality boatbuilding factory in Kiribati.
Before the breakthrough
Before Kiribati ratified the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus or the PACER Plus trade agreement, exporting KiriCraft’s handcrafted catamarans to Australia came at a cost. Every vessel entering the Australian market was subject to a five per cent import duty, an expense that quickly added up for a product as large and high-value as a boat.
“It doesn’t sound like much on paper,” Savins explains. “But when you’re exporting catamarans, five per cent is significant. It affects your pricing, your competitiveness, and ultimately your business’s ability to grow.”
In a competitive marine industry where buyers weigh quality against cost, that extra tariff often meant KiriCraft had to absorb losses or risk pricing itself out of the market.
Then PACER Plus came into force.
Tariff-free waters
“Before PACER Plus, we were paying five per cent in tariffs on our exports to Australia. But since Kiribati ratified PACER Plus in 2020, we no longer pay any import duties in Australia,” Savins says.
That single shift — tariff-free access — has had a cascading effect. Without the added cost of import duties, KiriCraft’s catamarans are now more competitive in Australia’s marine market. Pricing is clearer. Margins are healthier. And KiriCraft’s plans for growth are no longer speculative.
"With tariff-free access to the Australian market, we can expand our operations, create more job opportunities, and drive economic growth in Kiribati."
For Kiribati, a country with limited land, resources, and export pathways, those words carry weight.
More than paperwork
At the heart of this shift is PACER Plus’ Rules of Origin and Tariffs Component, often misunderstood as technical trade jargon, but in practice, deeply practical.
Rules of Origin are the criteria that determine whether a product is genuinely made in a PACER Plus country and therefore eligible for preferential treatment, such as tariff-free entry. For KiriCraft, meeting these rules means demonstrating that their catamarans are substantially built in Kiribati, from skilled local labour to production processes.
These rules do more than unlock tariff savings. They protect Pacific producers from unfair competition and ensure that the benefits of trade agreements flow to local industries.
“For us, it validates the work we’re doing here,” Savins says. “We’re not just assembling parts. We’re building boats in Kiribati, employing local people, transferring skills, and creating something of lasting value.”
PACER Plus’ tariff commitments then do the rest — removing import duties in Australia and New Zealand for qualifying Pacific goods. The result is a clear, predictable trading environment where Pacific businesses like KiriCraft can invest in confidence.
KiriCraft employee works on a boat inside KiriCraft's workshop.
Jobs, skills, and pride
Inside KiriCraft’s workshop, the benefits of tariff-free access are tangible. More orders mean more hands on deck. More hands mean more training, more apprenticeships, and more specialised skills staying in Kiribati rather than leaving it.
Boatbuilding is not a short-term industry. It requires precision and experience. PACER Plus, by reducing barriers to export, helps create exactly that.
“This isn’t just about selling boats,” Savins reflects. “It’s about building an industry. When we grow, our people grow with us.”
That growth ripples outward. Wages circulate locally. Skills are passed on. Young i-Kiribati workers see pathways beyond subsistence or overseas migration. In a country often framed by external narratives of limitation, KiriCraft tells a different story, one of capability.
A model for the Pacific
KiriCraft’s experience highlights something often overlooked in discussion about trade agreements: PACER Plus is not designed to benefit only large economies or commodity exporters. It’s Rules of Origin and tariff commitments are especially powerful for niche, high-value Pacific industries — manufacturing, processing, and craftsmanship that rely on quality rather than volume.
From boatbuilding in Kiribati to food processing, fisheries, and specialised manufacturing across the region, the principle is the same. When Pacific products can enter major markets without tariffs, they stand a fairer chance of success.
“This agreement gives us certainty,” Savins says. “And certainty is everything when you’re building something long-term. We’re building something that lasts and PACER Plus has helped make that possible, not just for KiriCraft, but for Kiribati.”
And for a small island nation surrounded by ocean, that is no small achievement.
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