NewsWhore
08-17-2007, 02:30 PM
Ambassador Richard Bernal, director general of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, has arrived in the DR. Bernal leads the team that represents the Caribbean in negotiations for the European Partnership Agreement with the European Union. The purpose of his visit to Santo Domingo is to meet with Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso and to review the list of products on which tariffs will be gradually removed with Dominican experts. The EPA seeks to achieve economic integration between Caribbean countries. Bernal's visit to the DR is part of a 15-day tour of the Caribbean as the deadline for the EPA approaches. Participants need to come to an agreement in time for a ministerial meeting set for 5-6 September.
Bernal's visit comes following European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's call to the Caribbean for a timely conclusion of the negotiations process.
In a 25 July 2007 letter to Dame Billie Miller, Barbados Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Mandelson expressed his concern about the lack of progress in the area of tariff liberalization, that he stressed lies at the core of a WTO compatible agreement. In his letter, he says that the European Commission is not seeking reciprocity of commitments. "Our approach is based on asymmetry of commitments within the limits that the flexibility of existing WTO rules allows. We are willing and ready to work with you to ensure that we use WTO flexibility to the extent possible, and in line with Cariforum countries' development priorities."
Mandelson stresses that the one main objective in the area they have pursued in the area of market access is to ensure that the EPA becomes a vehicle for regional integration and market building and by that means a significant contributor to economic growth and sustainable development.
Caribbean countries have held back on dismantling of tariffs on the grounds that most of their revenue is customs-based.
Mandelson says that the best way to move forward is to work towards tariff convergence in the Cariforum region. He says they could envisage transition periods generally of up to 15 years. The EU has opposed differentiated tariffs in the region. "Negotiating a common Cariforum tariff schedule for goods coming from the EC, when taken with our offer for duty and quota free access, would allow us to benefit from the maximum flexibility in terms of the existing WTO requirements for free trade areas," he explained. He indicated that negotiating multiple schedules would diminish flexibility within WTO rules.
Mandelson asked Caribbean negotiators to finalize negotiations by early October so as not to jeopardize the application of the agreement on 1 January 2008.
Mandelson stresses that if the Caribbean fails at the convergence of tariff liberalization, it would be subject to competing within the EU's existing Generalized System of Preferences scheme, which would mean Caribbean countries having to compete with India and Brazil.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
Bernal's visit comes following European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's call to the Caribbean for a timely conclusion of the negotiations process.
In a 25 July 2007 letter to Dame Billie Miller, Barbados Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Mandelson expressed his concern about the lack of progress in the area of tariff liberalization, that he stressed lies at the core of a WTO compatible agreement. In his letter, he says that the European Commission is not seeking reciprocity of commitments. "Our approach is based on asymmetry of commitments within the limits that the flexibility of existing WTO rules allows. We are willing and ready to work with you to ensure that we use WTO flexibility to the extent possible, and in line with Cariforum countries' development priorities."
Mandelson stresses that the one main objective in the area they have pursued in the area of market access is to ensure that the EPA becomes a vehicle for regional integration and market building and by that means a significant contributor to economic growth and sustainable development.
Caribbean countries have held back on dismantling of tariffs on the grounds that most of their revenue is customs-based.
Mandelson says that the best way to move forward is to work towards tariff convergence in the Cariforum region. He says they could envisage transition periods generally of up to 15 years. The EU has opposed differentiated tariffs in the region. "Negotiating a common Cariforum tariff schedule for goods coming from the EC, when taken with our offer for duty and quota free access, would allow us to benefit from the maximum flexibility in terms of the existing WTO requirements for free trade areas," he explained. He indicated that negotiating multiple schedules would diminish flexibility within WTO rules.
Mandelson asked Caribbean negotiators to finalize negotiations by early October so as not to jeopardize the application of the agreement on 1 January 2008.
Mandelson stresses that if the Caribbean fails at the convergence of tariff liberalization, it would be subject to competing within the EU's existing Generalized System of Preferences scheme, which would mean Caribbean countries having to compete with India and Brazil.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)