The Cook Islands effective participation in international and regional trade arrangements helps to enhance and promote opportunities for Cook Islands goods and services, market access and other trade related development issues. In line with most developing countries, the last decade has seen the Cook Islands adopt an export oriented, outward-looking approach to trade relations. Import restrictions have been largely lifted in favour of export promotion, and as such the Cook Islands now has a more open economy with increased volumes of imports and to a lesser extent, exports. The more open trading approach has led to increased prosperity and opportunities in the economy, particularly in the tourism industry, but it has also led to greater vulnerability. 

The Cook Islands has consistently had a balance of trade in goods deficit for the last decade with imports of goods exceeding exports. However, this has been consistently offset by the increasing export of services, primarily tourism.

The Cook Islands exports are primarily fish, pearls and some agricultural produce with main export markets being New Zealand, Japan, China and Australia.