NewsWhore
10-16-2008, 03:40 PM
The DR and 12 other Caribbean island states signed the European Partnership Agreement with the European Union in Bridgetown, Barbados yesterday. Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso and Industry & Commerce Minister Jose Ramon Fadul had traveled to Barbados for the signing.
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) Director General Henry Gill, who handled the trade agreement negotiations on behalf of the Caribbean, said the signing marks economic maturity in the Caribbean, as reported in Listin Diario. Host Barbados, together with Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Dominican Republic signed. Only Haiti and Guyana, the other two members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) did not sign.
The EPA will allow Caribbean goods to enter the European Union duty-free and quota-free come 1 January 2008, while there is a phased period between three to 25 years for European goods to enter CARIFORUM markets duty-free as well as an important number of exclusions for sensitive products.
Development co-operation will be an integral part of the EPA to ensure that the Caribbean states are able to adjust to the new challenges and to maximize the benefits from the opportunities offered by this agreement. The European Union Aid for Trade strategy and co- operation under the Cotonou Agreement offer many opportunities to develop programs in support of the implementation of this agreement. Special programs have also been put in place for sugar, bananas, rice and rum with a view to help Caribbean states become more competitive and diversify their economies.
It was the first time that Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic, negotiated as single group a forward-looking free trade area with a large group of developed countries. In addition to setting new rules for trade with Europe, the agreement opens doors for increased inter-Caribbean trade.
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/acp/epa151008_en.htm
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) Director General Henry Gill, who handled the trade agreement negotiations on behalf of the Caribbean, said the signing marks economic maturity in the Caribbean, as reported in Listin Diario. Host Barbados, together with Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Dominican Republic signed. Only Haiti and Guyana, the other two members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) did not sign.
The EPA will allow Caribbean goods to enter the European Union duty-free and quota-free come 1 January 2008, while there is a phased period between three to 25 years for European goods to enter CARIFORUM markets duty-free as well as an important number of exclusions for sensitive products.
Development co-operation will be an integral part of the EPA to ensure that the Caribbean states are able to adjust to the new challenges and to maximize the benefits from the opportunities offered by this agreement. The European Union Aid for Trade strategy and co- operation under the Cotonou Agreement offer many opportunities to develop programs in support of the implementation of this agreement. Special programs have also been put in place for sugar, bananas, rice and rum with a view to help Caribbean states become more competitive and diversify their economies.
It was the first time that Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic, negotiated as single group a forward-looking free trade area with a large group of developed countries. In addition to setting new rules for trade with Europe, the agreement opens doors for increased inter-Caribbean trade.
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/acp/epa151008_en.htm
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)