GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Senior Caribbean and European officials will meet in Barbados in June for the first meeting of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM)-European Union Trade and Development Committee.
Adviser to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General on the Implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Head of the EPA Implementation Unit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Branford Isaacs, said the meeting will take place in Bridgetown from June 9-10.
“Its importance is not lost on either the CARIFORUM or EU side,” Isaacs said, noting “this initial meeting of the Committee is required, under the Agreement, to receive specific information from CARIFORUM States” comprising the 15-CARICOM countries and the Dominican Republic.
“Information to be provided is expected to relate to border taxes which CARIFORUM states are permitted to maintain for an agreed period, with respect to goods traded under the CARIFORUM-EU EPA,” a CARICOM Secretariat statement said.
In addition, the Committee will take the formal decision for incorporation of the commitments of The Bahamas on Trade in Services under the Agreement.
It is also expected that the meeting will address an EU proposal for a special committee on trade and investment for Haiti, in addition to other matters.
“Some of the varied interactions, in recent months, between the EPA Implementation Unit and CARIFORUM States contributed to preparatory efforts to develop CARIFORUM positions ahead of the planned first meeting of the Trade and Development Committee,” the statement said.
Article 230 of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA deals with the establishment of the Trade and Development Committee and provides that the Committee’s functions shall include supervision of and responsibility for the implementation and proper application of the provisions of the Agreement.
These functions extend to the provision of assistance to the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council in the performance of its functions regarding development cooperation.
The Trade and Development Committee is the second highest institution, after the Joint Council — which met in inaugural session in May 2010. Meetings of the Trade and Development Committee are to take place at the level of senior officials.
The EPA was signed between the CARIFORUM countries and the European Union in 2008. (CMC)