NewsWhore
12-19-2007, 05:00 PM
Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso says the agreement signed on 16 December with the European Union is the most modern ever negotiated, and the most innovative, as it covers goods, services, investments and people mobility. The new agreement will enter into effect on 1 January 2008 for Dominican exports to Europe. The papers won't be signed until the European Union's regional summit in Barbados on 15 March.
The agreement will permit Dominican products such as bananas and tobacco to enter the EU without tariffs and quotas. Sugar, however, will be limited to 30,000 tons in 2008 and 2009. The Caribbean nations will begin to apply the agreement's protocols on 15 April. The accord also provides for "an alternate migration plan" whereby European companies can hire professional, technical or qualified personnel for up to six months of work. On the financial level, according to Morales, the agreement provides for financial guarantees for investments coming from the EU as long as Dominican investments receive the same treatment in the EU countries. Morales also revealed that the EU would be assisting the Dominican Republic with programs for competitiveness (EUR80/US$120 million) and development (US$169 million) over the 2008-2013 period.
Morales Troncoso stressed that this is the first agreement to completely liberalize trade. It enables Caribbean countries to exclude certain products, it allows for the use of inputs from any country for apparel manufacture, footwear or pharmaceuticals for export to Europe. It is also the first to prohibit and repress corruption and violation of labor and environmental laws by investors. Furthermore, it is the first to include rules on travel and is the first to put into practice the UNESCO convention for the promotion and protection of cultural diversity, through a cultural cooperation protocol. The agreement is also the first to require that Caribbean countries grant themselves what they have granted to Europe, making true Caribbean integration a reality. Morales pointed out that the agreement integrates Haiti in a free trade agreement with the Dominican Republic.
The agreement is also the first to provide for safeguards lasting up to eight years for product trade protection. It is also the first time that a group of developed countries liberalizes the movement of people, opening their markets, without quotas to doctors, nurses, lawyers, consultants and other trade providers from the Caribbean.
Signatory countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican Republic. Participating parties for the European Union are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, the UK, Bulgaria and Romania.
http://dr1.com/trade/articles/426/1/Full-Text-of-the-EPA-Agreement/Page1.html
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
The agreement will permit Dominican products such as bananas and tobacco to enter the EU without tariffs and quotas. Sugar, however, will be limited to 30,000 tons in 2008 and 2009. The Caribbean nations will begin to apply the agreement's protocols on 15 April. The accord also provides for "an alternate migration plan" whereby European companies can hire professional, technical or qualified personnel for up to six months of work. On the financial level, according to Morales, the agreement provides for financial guarantees for investments coming from the EU as long as Dominican investments receive the same treatment in the EU countries. Morales also revealed that the EU would be assisting the Dominican Republic with programs for competitiveness (EUR80/US$120 million) and development (US$169 million) over the 2008-2013 period.
Morales Troncoso stressed that this is the first agreement to completely liberalize trade. It enables Caribbean countries to exclude certain products, it allows for the use of inputs from any country for apparel manufacture, footwear or pharmaceuticals for export to Europe. It is also the first to prohibit and repress corruption and violation of labor and environmental laws by investors. Furthermore, it is the first to include rules on travel and is the first to put into practice the UNESCO convention for the promotion and protection of cultural diversity, through a cultural cooperation protocol. The agreement is also the first to require that Caribbean countries grant themselves what they have granted to Europe, making true Caribbean integration a reality. Morales pointed out that the agreement integrates Haiti in a free trade agreement with the Dominican Republic.
The agreement is also the first to provide for safeguards lasting up to eight years for product trade protection. It is also the first time that a group of developed countries liberalizes the movement of people, opening their markets, without quotas to doctors, nurses, lawyers, consultants and other trade providers from the Caribbean.
Signatory countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican Republic. Participating parties for the European Union are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, the UK, Bulgaria and Romania.
http://dr1.com/trade/articles/426/1/Full-Text-of-the-EPA-Agreement/Page1.html
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)