RNM UPDATE 0514

October 5, 2005

Prepared by the Communications Division of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), this
electronic newsletter focuses on the RNM, trade negotiation issues within its mandate and related activities.

- WTO TALKS STILL NOT OUT OF ‘DANGER ZONE’, HEADWAY ELUSIVE

- FTAA PROCESS REMAINS DORMANT

- CARIFORUM-EU LAUNCH CRUCIAL PHASE OF TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT TALKS

- SECOND BANANA ARBITRATION REQUESTED

- NEWS BRIEFS

- UPCOMING EVENTS

WTO TALKS STILL NOT OUT OF ‘DANGER ZONE’, HEADWAY ELUSIVE

Global Trade Talks Not Yet at Full Steam

CARICOM Trade Ministers recently expressed the view that the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Doha Round talks are still not out of the ‘danger zone’. They met October 1 at the Third Meeting of
CARICOM Ministerial Spokespersons for External Trade Negotiations, that followed on the heels of
encounters with the European Commission last week.

Prior to the Summer break, Geneva-based WTO talks ground to a halt, due to failure to strike a
“First Approximations” accord. Prospects for Doha Round talks dimmed, although this is certainly
not what was envisaged by some Members in the months before the July General Council.

Without an outline text on the cusp of the Summer break, the Geneva-based process was hanging
on precariously. A measure of reprieve came when the negotiations resumed last month, but
progress since then has been patchy, and in recent days characterized by acrimony, with both the
US and EU challenging each other to increase respective commitments in flagging Doha farm
negotiations.

What is Holding up Doha Round Talks?

The negotiations remain troubled and behind schedule for several reasons, including: i) Progress
of the entire agenda is dependent on progress in two key pillars of the Round, Agriculture and Non-
Agricultural Market Access (NAMA). Momentum, in this regard, has yet to be ratcheted up, raising

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concerns over what could be achieved ahead of the Sixth WTO Ministerial set for Hong Kong; ii)
Allied to this, the talks remain centred squarely on the concerns of principal players, with issues
important to smaller countries caught in the crossfire, relegated to the backburner or at worst
altogether ignored; and, iii) There appears to be an inertia in addressing the development agenda
of this Round of talks.

In examining why negotiations remain troubled, it is important to consider what the failure to arrive
at a first “July Approximation” is symptomatic of. Some WTO-watchers question whether the
Round is too ambitious, especially on core issues. Others insist the logjam is less technical, than
political. WTO Director General Pascal Lamy insists agreement is within reach. He re-collects the
Uruguay Round, citing the numerous crises and set backs it went through, only to “pull together
spectacularly in the final months.” So, while WTO detractors cite the inability to reach an accord as
reflective of the need to scale back ambitions for the Hong Kong Ministerial, supporters emphasize
the need for leadership.

a) Agriculture and NAMA: The Linchpins of the Doha Round

Key countries remain reticent about moving forward on Agriculture, the main sticking point in
negotiations. The effect of this has been that an acceleration of work in faltering Doha trade
negotiations has not been possible. In Agriculture, the US is under pressure to make concessions
on domestic support and the EU on market access. Deep divisions persist in farm talks, as
evidenced by consultations Tuesday (October 4) in Geneva, which Chairman of the Agriculture
talks in the WTO, New Zealand ambassador Crawford Falconer, admitted still needed much work,
if an accord was to be reached in Hong Kong. A cluster of Agriculture talks previously took place in
mid-September in Geneva, against the backdrop of high-level bilateral talks between the US and
EU in Washington DC, which strongly emphasized the Agriculture elements of Doha Round
negotiations. This set of consultations was followed by a meeting September 22 of EU Trade
Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel and their
respective US counterparts Robert Portman and Mike Johanns. Outside of these consultations,
various groupings have attempted to kick-start Agriculture talks. Representatives from the ‘new
Quad’ met with Australia, as well as with China, Switzerland, Japan, Argentina, and Malaysia
September 24, ostensibly to advance farm trade negotiations. However, progress on Agriculture
remains far from satisfactory.

Both the United States and the EU faced stiff criticism of their respective proposals Tuesday
(October 4), with the former being challenged over its commitment to addressing trade-distorting
domestic support and export competition, and the latter for its proposal on market access. The
proposals of the two principal players, first floated last month during a “quad” meeting in Paris,
were presented to negotiators in Geneva this week. The next official ‘Agriculture Week’ will begin
October 17, following the informal meetings or ‘clinics’ held in recent days.

Also described as a core issue, NAMA is another vexing area. Emerging from formal and informal
meetings of the NAMA Negotiating Group September 21 to 22, Members remained broadly divided
on the structure of the tariff reduction formula. Similarly, they remained at odds over flexibilities in
its application. Earlier this week at an informal meeting of NAMA negotiators, Chairman of the
industrial market access negotiations Stefan Hakur Johannesson underscored the importance of

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Members addressing flexibility for developing countries, warning that a successful Hong Kong
Ministerial would be in “jeopardy” otherwise.

As has been the case for many months now, Members refrained from committing themselves to a
particular method for cutting industrial tariffs, until farm talks were sufficiently advanced. A week of
intensive NAMA negotiations is slated to get underway from October 10.

b) Negotiations Centred on Priority Issues of Principal Players

Unblocking the Geneva-based process on these two scores, Agriculture and NAMA, will free up
momentum in global trade talks, it is argued. But the problem with the negotiations is not just that
they have been stymied by a lack of consensus on the core issues, but that the totality of the Doha
Agenda has so far not been successfully integrated. Issues germane to the Caribbean, for
instance, have not found expression in on-going talks, in a satisfactory way. This latter point is
reflective of how negotiations are being ordered. Agriculture and NAMA have important
development components, but it is in how the issues are being treated that reveals a clear
prioritization such that the order of the negotiating agenda favours developed over developing
countries. The issues set out in the Doha Agenda have been given a priority order, where the core
issues - as they are described – are at the top of that order, and the issues of importance to
smaller countries marginalized on the agenda’s ‘totem pole.’ The issues being marginalized should
form the core of discussions, as they go to the heart of what should be on the top of the agenda in
a development round. The challenge lies in mainstreaming a range of issues with key
development components into an agenda that is skewed and predisposed to featuring issues that
developed countries are focused on. On this score, developing countries must get satisfaction, for
a balanced Agreement to be achieved.

CARICOM countries are keen on consensus being built around Agriculture and NAMA, but there is
growing frustration with the view that so-called core issues must get resolution first, for other issues
to receive attention. The fact is, global trade talks involve all WTO Members. The concerns of one
group of countries are just as important as those of other, much larger players. At a time when a
Development Agenda is on the table, there is a pressing need for development issues to receive
the due attention they deserve. To the extent that this is not happening, the concept of a
‘development round’ is undercut. There has been a failure on the part of principal players to realize
that the success of the Round will depend on striking an overall balance on a wider agenda of
development issues. The Doha Round must remain faithful to all the development objectives set
out in the Doha Declaration.

c) Development not Adequately Featured in Negotiating Agenda

For CARICOM, the expectation when the Doha Round was launched was that global trade talks
would feature ‘development’. Given the treatment of this issue to date, there remains much
cynicism about the Doha Round effectively addressing this central element.

At their meeting last weekend, CARICOM Trade Ministers voiced their deep disappointment over
the insufficient progress made in development issues in the agenda of the Round. They noted that
this is the tragedy of the talks, as development was the “central platform” on which the Round of

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negotiations was launched, but now appear to have been placed on the back-burner of the
negotiating agenda, overtaken by priority issues for developed countries. With this dynamic at
play, CARICOM Trade Ministers question how the ‘Doha Development Agenda’ can effectively
facilitate better trade and development prospects for the Region.

Issues Crucial for the Caribbean in the Doha Round

For CARICOM, as with other small vulnerable economies whose volume of trade has an
insignificant impact on international trade flows, preferences remain vitally important. Caribbean
preference-receiving countries will likely undergo a further erosion of MFN margin protection.
However, the damage could be limited through the negotiation of adequate residual preferential
margins, on key long-standing preferences in the Agriculture area. In addition, compensation and
adjustment assistance will have to play their roles.

The Region has consistently brought attention to the urgency of addressing development issues.
CARICOM countries remain dis-satisfied with how this area is being treated in the negotiations,
and how it is receiving expression in thematic subjects, like Agriculture and NAMA.

Similarly, as regards the Small Economies Work Programme, CARICOM countries remain dis-
satisfied with the level of progress to date. The Work Programme has special resonance for
CARICOM countries, as these small, weak developing economies have yet to be accorded the
attention they deserve in the WTO.

In NAMA, the Caribbean would prefer more gradual tariff cuts, as well as voluntary sectoral
liberalization. The tariff reduction formula proposed by a group of Caribbean countries a few
months ago is suited to the trade profiles of developing countries, especially small vulnerable
economies, and their ability to offer and sustain concessions. It provides a development-oriented
approach, fully in accordance with the mandate on less than full reciprocity in reduction
commitments. As regards the erosion of preferences, the NAMA Chair was told by CARICOM
countries earlier this week that this must be simultaneously addressed.

In Services, the proposed liberalization by developed Members, in sectors and modes of supply of
specific interest to Small Economies remains insufficient to render opportunities of commercial
significance to small services suppliers. The services negotiations have also failed to redress
imbalances in supply-side capacity, efficiency and competitiveness, that exist among WTO
members. The Caribbean is deeply concerned with the lack of this development dimension. In
addition, the liberalization of Mode 4 (Movement of Natural Persons) has been identified by
Caribbean countries as crucial to the expansion of their exports and to poverty reduction.
However, the lack of substantive progress on temporary entry remains a major shortcoming in the
offers by the developed countries to date.

On special and differential (S&DT), the repeated failure to meet set deadlines has been of
particular concern, given the importance of S&DT to the Caribbean. The review of all outstanding
Agreement-Specific proposals has not taken place at a satisfactory pace. As had been mandated
by last year’s July Package, Members were unable to report clear recommendations to the General
Council for decision three months ago. Continued delay in the adoption of these proposals

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threatens to undercut the real economic value and sufficient policy space required by CARICOM
countries in achieving their development goals. Allied to this, efforts to strengthen and
operationalize Agreement Specific provisions in existing Agreements is not yielding the desired
results. In the interests of finding a lasting solution, the ACP at large is keen on exploring a
broader approach to this issue.

ACP Group Issues in the Doha Round

The ACP countries met with Director General Lamy, September 29. This Group made clear that
the Doha Round must ensure that their development needs and priorities are effectively
addressed. Mr. Lamy was told that from the ACP perspective, there has not been any significant
progress on the development issues. Going through a list of priority areas for ACP countries in
Doha Round talks, the ACP Group relayed to Mr. Lamy that:

i) Development, S&DT and implementation-related issues had to be addressed, as a matter of

urgency;

ii) Much more has to be done in terms of special treatment for small, weak developing economies,
whose vulnerabilities are yet to be accorded the recognition they deserve in the WTO. A call was
made to take into account the concerns of these economies in negotiations, which are facing an
uphill task in getting their special development needs accepted;

iii) Given the importance of preferences to ACP countries, preference erosion had to be
addressed;

iv) The end-date for the elimination of export subsidies should take into account the interests of
ACP preference-receiving countries. ACP concerns in the area of domestic support and market
access were also identified, in the case of the former highlighting positions regarding reduction
commitments and the latter signalling that negotiations should take into account the need for
improved market access for ACP agricultural products at the primary, semi-finished and finished
product stages;

v) A development-oriented approach to the formula for tariff reductions in NAMA must be

pursued, such that S&DT and the principle of less than full reciprocity is respected;

vi) There is a need to go beyond securing existing levels of openness, in order to create
significant new commercial opportunities across a broad range of sectors, in particular those that
can contribute most to development and be of most benefit to developing countries. Given the role
of services in ACP trade, it is imperative that substantial improvement in market access in modes
and sectors of export interest be made. Allied to this, there was a call for work in the rule-making
area to be intensified;

vii) Ensuring meaningful S&DT in Article XXIV of the GATT is a key component of on-going rules
negotiations, to ensure the necessary flexibility for ACP countries; and,

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 viii) The ACP Group attaches high importance to the mandate set out in Paragraph 36 of the
Doha Ministerial Declaration on Trade, Debt and Finance, and called for further work to be done -
with a view to ensuring a durable solution is found to the problem of external indebtedness of ACP
countries.

Doha Round Talks: State-of-Play and Prospects

Following the Summer break, the various negotiating groups have restarted their work. The Trade
Negotiations Committee (TNC) will meet October 13 to 14. A General Council meeting will be
convened a week later. In the lead up to these meetings, there will be a string of important
consultations on ‘problem areas’. The so-called ‘Fluella-plus’ meeting of a dozen countries –
essentially a ‘mini-Ministerial’ - is set to take place in Zurich, October 10. There will also be
meetings of the G20, ‘Five Interested Parties’ (the United States, the European Union, India, Brazil
and Australia) and the new ‘Quad’ (the United States, the EU, Brazil and India), respectively, that
follow. The extent to which consensus can be reached at these encounters will determine the
nature of the momentum going into the Ministerial at year’s end. Such consultative meetings in
recent months, though, have revealed the deep differences that remain among members, that if
unresolved, will certainly delay or even scuttle the negotiations in Hong Kong.

At the encounter with the ACP Group last week, Director General Lamy – who also chairs the TNC
– reaffirmed what he said at last month’s TNC, which is that global trade talks need to be two-thirds
done by the end of this year, so that they can be completed by the end of 2006. He stressed the
end of US fast track authority as the most important constraining factor, in this regard. The
sequence as he saw it was to make a breakthrough in Agriculture, to enable movement in NAMA
and Services, and from there on to Rules, S&DT, etc.

On Monday (October 3), Lamy told the Chairs of various negotiating bodies – in advance of the
October 13 TNC – that the key elements of a package for the Hong Kong Ministerial have to be
finalized by month’s end. High hopes are being pinned on the October 13 TNC, with the
expectation in some quarters that it could set the stage for striking a deal WTO Members fell short
of achieving three months ago. If this is to be the case, significant progress must be made next
week. But the likelihood of clinching such momentum is slim. In a stock-taking exercise in recent
days, the Agriculture and NAMA Negotiating Group Chairs both gave sombre assessments of the
state of affairs in these linchpin areas, highlighting difficulties in reconciling positions of key
Members. Despite some progress in the recent Paris Ministerial meeting and last week’s senior-
officials meeting, agricultural market access and trade-distorting domestic support remain
contentious. Similarly on NAMA negotiations, the chair has signalled the stalemate continues.

Serious challenges remain in reaching agreement at the WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.
There is a shared sense of urgency as Hong Kong draws closer, but somehow the awareness of
the need for action is not translating into the necessary concessions that have to be made on the
core issues. By Mr. Lamy’s own admission, Hong Kong “is probably our last and best chance to
move the Doha Round towards a successful conclusion at the end of 2006.” And the stakes are
high. The Doha Round must foster an international environment in which developing countries are
in a stronger position to achieve the United Nations Millenium Development Goals. In remarks to
the Financial Committee of the IMF September 24, Mr. Lamy acknowledged that “it is difficult to

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exaggerate the importance of this Round. Its huge potential for contributing to global growth,
correcting imbalances, and promoting development is obvious.” In this vein, there is a growing
recognition that remaining faithful to the development objectives of this Round will be a crucial
benchmark for its ultimate success.

CARICOM countries are not optimistic about a breakthrough in Doha Round talks in the run-up to
the Sixth WTO Ministerial. The Doha Round of talks stand on the edge of a precipice, because
time is against them, and because the agenda remains front-loaded with issues that the principal
players consider priorities. If the talks are to step back from the edge, a renewed effort at both the
technical and political levels will be needed to ensure that the Doha development dimension finds
its place in the results of the Hong Kong Ministerial.

FTAA PROCESS REMAINS DORMANT

CARICOM’s recent call for the convening of a meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA) Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) prior to the Fourth Summit of the Americas set for
Argentina next month has met with stony silence, as the Region awaits an acknowledgement of its
September 1 letter to the Brazilian and US Co-Chairs of the TNC (see RNM website,
www.crnm.org).

CARICOM, along with Mexico, Canada and Chile (see www.crnm.org), wrote to the US and
Brazilian Co-Chairs, calling on them to convene a meeting of the TNC in mid-October, in order to
draft consensus language on the FTAA to be included in the Mar del Plata Summit Declaration.

The lack of response from the Co-Chairs has raised concern among several countries about the
break down of communication between the Co-Chairs and the rest of the TNC, as well as the
prospects for the restart of negotiations. This is the third occasion on which CARICOM has written
to the Co-Chairs expressing concern about the impasse in negotiations, without an official
response.

In the absence of a TNC meeting, efforts are now concentrated on the Summit Implementation
Review Group (SIRG), which is meeting in Washington DC October 3 to 7, to continue the
negotiation of the draft Mar del Plata Declaration, which leaders of the hemisphere will issue at the
close of the Fourth Summit of the Americas. The current version of the draft Declaration is silent
on the FTAA.

The CARICOM letter to the Co-Chairs noted that the FTAA is an integral part of the Summit
process, and that a clear signal needed to come from the highest political level in the hemisphere,
of the continuing commitment to the goals and objectives of the FTAA.

CARICOM is represented at the SIRG meeting, in order to table language on the FTAA for
insertion in the Declaration.

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CARIFORUM-EU LAUNCH CRUCIAL PHASE OF TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT TALKS

The third phase of negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between
CARIFORUM countries and the European Union was launched in Saint Lucia, September 30.

Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) Ambassador Dr.
Richard Bernal characterized CARIFORUM-EU negotiations for an EPA as being at a propitious
juncture, having successfully advanced through two preliminary phases. “Emerging from the
current Regional Integration phase, both sides have a better understanding of their respective
economic spaces, as the two regions move closer to docking. We have had a successful Phase II,
and stand ready to emerge from it with momentum. The negotiations are poised to undergo a
qualitative shift in specificity,” he said.

CARIFORUM Trade Ministers and European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson met on the
occasion of the Second CARIFORUM-EC Ministerial EPA Meeting, September 30. They adopted
the Joint Report on negotiations that took place in Phase II, reviewed progress in EPA negotiations
so far, and provided political instructions on the future orientation of those negotiations. In addition
to discussing the EPA process, this frank and constructive encounter provided an opportunity for
an exchange of views on the WTO Doha Development Round, and commodities of key importance
to the Region. The two sides also discussed vital trade and aid issues relating to the CARIFORUM
banana, sugar and rum industries.

The Ministerial was preceded by the Fourth Meeting of CARIFORUM-EC Principal Negotiators in
Saint Lucia, September 28. The results of that meeting formed an important input into the Second
CARIFORUM-EC EPA Ministerial Meeting. A CARIFORUM Ministerial caucus was also convened
September 29, ahead of the CARIFORUM-EC Ministerial encounter. It provided an important
preparatory forum for Ministers. A preparatory meeting at the level of the CARIFORUM EPA
College also took place, in advance of the meetings with the Commission. Convened September
26 and 27, this was the inaugural meeting of the College.

Ambassador Bernal reaffirmed that an EPA must provide for a new development dynamic, helping
to foster a single economic space, which is synchronized with the dynamic aspects of the global
economy, through openness to flows of capital, investment, knowledge and technology. He
highlighted that for CARIFORUM, there are three objectives to be pursued in Phase III of EPA
negotiations, namely: a) forging an agreement on the structure of an EPA; b) consolidating the
outcome of discussions on the priority issues for CARIFORUM regional integration; and, c)
agreeing on an approach to trade liberalization, which is development promoting and cognizant of
the need to address the issue of sensitive products and best practices for private sector operators
and the business environment. In this vein, in keeping with the vision of the EPA being a modern
trade agreement, the expectation on the part of CARIFORUM is for the EPA to contribute to an
environment in which corporate entities can improve their global competitiveness. The EPA must
mediate the Region’s transition to full international competitiveness.

The two sides agreed that the structure of the work programme in Phase III should centre on four
negotiating groups: a) Market Access (covering non-Agricultural Market Access and Agriculture); b)
Services and Investment; c) Trade-Related Issues; and, d) Legal and Institutional Issues.

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In addition to developing an understanding of respective regional economic spaces that will
assume commitments in an EPA, for CARIFORUM, Phase II also had as its objective identifying
priority areas to be supported by an EPA. A meeting of the Regional Preparatory Task Force
(RPTF) - established in order to cement the strategic link between EPA negotiations and
development cooperation – on September 27 took stock of these priority areas. Altogether, there
are eleven CARIFORUM proposals for strengthening regional integration, that have been
submitted to the European Commission in Phase II.

After the Ministerial encounter with the European Commission that launched Phase III of EPA
negotiations between CARIFORUM and the EC, CARIFORUM Trade Ministers had a luncheon
meeting with a select group of senior business executives from the Region. EU Trade
Commissioner Peter Mandelson also participated in the working lunch. Commenting on the
objective of the meeting, CARIFORUM Principal Negotiator for EPA Negotiations and Ambassador
Bernal said “it is firms that trade not governments, and so it essential that those at the political and
technical levels who are charged with negotiating trade agreements engage in dialogue with the
business community. The input of leaders of the business sector must inform the goals, structure,
and scope and modalities of trade agreements, such as EPAs.” The encounter was an opportunity
for top executives from seven key private sector operators in the Region to articulate their goals in
the European market, their difficulties in trade and investment with the EU and their vision of an
enhanced trade relationship in a frank exchange with CARIFORUM Ministers and Commissioner
Mandelson. Firms represented at the encounter were: The Banana Company of Jamaica, Jamaica
Exporters Association, West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association, St. Lucia Distillers,
Guardian Insurance, Caribseas Ltd. (shipping agents), Sunecon (engineering consultants).

CARIFORUM Trade Ministers also met with over a dozen civil society groups. An initiative of
CARIFORUM Ministers, the encounter allowed for an exchange of views on the CARIFORUM
approach to EPA negotiations, also providing an opportunity for Ministers to be informed of civil
society concerns regarding these negotiations and commodity issues of interest to CARIFORUM.
The Ministers welcomed the opportunity for what was characterized as constructive dialogue with
civil society.

SECOND BANANA ARBITRATION REQUESTED

The EU submitted a request to the WTO September 26 for a second arbitration on its proposal for
a new import tariff for bananas from countries benefiting from Most Favoured Nation status.
Commission representatives explained that following consultations with Latin American partners
based on its revised its proposal, agreement was not arrived at, nor did those partners present an
alternative proposal of their own.

This move follows the latest proposal by the EU, tabled in early September for a duty of 187 euros
per tonne. The figure is lower than the previous 230 euro proposal, which an earlier WTO
arbitration panel ruled against in early August.

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The Region had expressed grave concern with the introduction of the single tariff at the proposed
level of 187 euros per tonne, charging that this figure would ultimately undermine the protection it
required to be able to continue exporting bananas to Europe. Effectively, at that level the market
stability, security of access and earnings of Caribbean banana supplying countries would be
undercut. Ambassador Bernal has emphasized that for banana supplying CARIFORUM countries
what is at issue is the livelihood of thousands of farmers, their families and persons employed by
businesses associated with the production and export of bananas. The Region has grave
concerns as regards the level of the tariff to take effect in the Tariff Only system being undercut
any further, as the viability of the banana industry and the welfare of tens of thousands of people
are in jeopardy (see RNM News Release 1505 - SCALED BACK COMMISSION BANANA
PROPOSAL TO HAVE CRIPPLING EFFECT ON CARIBBEAN). This point was underscored in
Ambassador Bernal’s remarks to European Commission representatives last week.

A Brussels-based envoy for a group of Caribbean Windward Island banana-suppliers blasted the
European Commission’s September 26 request for WTO arbitration of its own proposed single tariff
for bananas. The envoy noted “though the Commission should “win” the Arbitration, the stakes are
particularly high. If the Arbitrator rules that the proposed tariff is too high to meet the stipulation of
the 2001 Doha requirement of “maintaining total market access for MFN suppliers”, then the ACP
would lose their WTO waiver permitting their duty-free entry. It is thus the ACP producers, not the
EU, who would suffer - and badly. Without the waiver, the Caribbean trade would be destroyed. To
minimise this risk, the Commission conservatively pitched the tariff at a level that is insufficient to
sustain current ACP trade. So the ACP lose either way. Nonetheless, by pursuing this option, the
Commission is in effect recklessly playing Russian roulette, but with the gun to the head of the
ACP countries!”

Ambassador Bernal had previously urged the ACP and Latin American banana producing countries
to intensify their joint search for a fair and lasting solution, because whatever arrangement is
introduced it must guarantee remunerative prices and adequate market access for all.

NEWS BRIEFS

St. Lucian Officials and Private Sector Discuss Services Liberalization

As part of the RNM’s programme of national consultations on the negotiation of an EPA, a session
on services liberalization was held in conjunction with the Government of Saint Lucia September
23, in Castries. The meeting immediately followed national consultations on broader issues in the
CARIFORUM-EC EPA negotiations, held September 22. Approximately sixty five persons attended
the meeting, including government officials and private sector representatives involved in
agriculture, entertainment, real estate, professional services and health services.

Opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Calixte Leon, External Trade Advisor in the Ministry of
External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation as well as Mr. Brian Louisy, Executive
Director, Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. Mr. Leon noted that
services account for around 82% of Saint Lucia’s GDP, and stressed the need for diversification

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within the services sector to reduce reliance on tourism. Mr. Brian Louisy, in his remarks,
acknowledged the importance and potential of the services sector, emphasizing that action be
driven by a broader strategy based on consultation with stakeholders on an ongoing basis. He was
optimistic that the newly created External Trade Council, Saint Lucia’s National Export Strategy
and the development cooperation aspect of EPAs would be used maximize the potential of the
services sector. Resident British High Commissioner, Mr. Kelvin Green, described the
longstanding relationship between Sant Lucia and the United Kingdom in goods and services
trade, and the critical role of investment and export promotion agencies in helping firms benefit
from EPAs.

RNM Services Specialist Mr. Ramesh Chaitoo emphasized the importance of creating stable and
predictable business and investment regimes for CARIFORUM trading partners. While noting that
the small size of Caribbean services firms and their limited ability to sell and invest overseas
makes moving people to deliver the services essential, CARIFORUM should also push for
agreements that allow them to provide cross-border services and establish commercial presence in
European markets.

Several members of the private sector shared their perspectives on the domestic regulatory
framework, and their experiences in international markets, including Europe. Mr. Henry Gill, Senior
Director of the RNM, reiterated that an ability to successfully operate in a global market requires
global networks, confidence in and quality of the exported service, and; the need for removal of
domestic obstacles.

Costa Rican President signs FTA with CARICOM

On September 19, the President of Costa Rica, Abel Pacheco, signed the Free Trade Agreement
between CARICOM and Costa Rica, before an audience of at least one hundred and fifty
businessmen and foreign trade authorities. The Agreement was ratified by the Costa Rican
Congress in August.

UPCOMING EVENTS

- October 10 to 14: Government of Haiti with EC support, Seminar on Impact of EPA Accords for Haiti: 10th
in Port-au-Prince, 12th in Cayes (S. West), 14th in Cap Haitien (North).

- October 18 to 19: Meeting of ACP Group of Experts on Rules of Origin, Brussels

- October 18 to 20: RNM/Commonwealth Secretariat, 2nd meeting of trade experts on EPA negotiations,
Jamaica

- October 19 to 20: Meeting of OECS Ministers with responsibility for Trade, Antigua

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For More Information Contact:

Nand C. Bardouille
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery
3rd Floor, The Mutual Building, Hastings Main Road, Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados
Tel: (246) 430-1678
FAX: (246) 228-9528

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