NewsWhore
02-19-2008, 02:50 PM
The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) held a workshop last week in Bridgetown, Barbados with regional media personnel to discuss in detail the recently agreed upon Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union. The CRNM, the Barbadian based negotiating arm of CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the DR), was represented by Director General Richard Bernal, Senior Director Henry Gill, Services Trade Unit Head Ramesh Chaitoo, Intellectual Property, Science and Technology Senior Coordinator Malcolm Spence and Deputy Senior Director Carl Greenidge.
The need for the educational workshop became apparent in recent weeks as regional media, members of government, intellectuals and scholars began to voice concerns about the EPA and its implications for the region. One of the loudest voices opposing the EPA was Guyanese president Bharat Jagdeo who argued that the region had nothing to gain from the agreement. Critics claim that a move from one-way preferential treatment, which has been the norm with Caribbean trade policy for more than 100 years, towards reciprocity would cause damaging effects on the small economies of CARICOM nations.
Bernal contradicted these concerns by explaining that in the face of an increasingly global economy this was the best option for the region. Bernal added that if it were possible to get preferential one-way treatment, the CRNM would have tried to get it, but with pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and movement by countries towards trade liberalization this was impossible, adding "this is fantasy not a reality, this is fiction not fact."
Bernal added that contrary to critical opinion, the region was not bullied into the agreement. "The need to move towards reciprocity had been known since the Lome and Cotonou agreements. We might not like globalization, but it is a reality. Not everybody makes it in globalization, there is no guarantee everybody will benefit, but the global economy equals global competition. We are competing in today's world. This is a trade agreement, not an aid agreement. This is a hand up, not a hand out and if you can't compete in 25 years you can't compete in 50 or 100 years."
As for the DR's role in the EPA negotiations the country was applauded for its efficiencies during the process. In fact, CRNM officials agreed that the DR, because of its CAFTA negotiations with the US, had all ready been ahead of the curve and that it was CARICOM that had to make concessions for the DR. The DR, according to Gill, could have held out longer for certain concessions under the agreement, but sacrificed and accommodated to CARICOM. Lu Olivero of dr1.com (http://dr1.com) represented the Dominican Republic at the workshop. For continuing coverage of the EPA please go to the DR1 trade page: www.dr1.com/trade (http://www.dr1.com/trade)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
The need for the educational workshop became apparent in recent weeks as regional media, members of government, intellectuals and scholars began to voice concerns about the EPA and its implications for the region. One of the loudest voices opposing the EPA was Guyanese president Bharat Jagdeo who argued that the region had nothing to gain from the agreement. Critics claim that a move from one-way preferential treatment, which has been the norm with Caribbean trade policy for more than 100 years, towards reciprocity would cause damaging effects on the small economies of CARICOM nations.
Bernal contradicted these concerns by explaining that in the face of an increasingly global economy this was the best option for the region. Bernal added that if it were possible to get preferential one-way treatment, the CRNM would have tried to get it, but with pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and movement by countries towards trade liberalization this was impossible, adding "this is fantasy not a reality, this is fiction not fact."
Bernal added that contrary to critical opinion, the region was not bullied into the agreement. "The need to move towards reciprocity had been known since the Lome and Cotonou agreements. We might not like globalization, but it is a reality. Not everybody makes it in globalization, there is no guarantee everybody will benefit, but the global economy equals global competition. We are competing in today's world. This is a trade agreement, not an aid agreement. This is a hand up, not a hand out and if you can't compete in 25 years you can't compete in 50 or 100 years."
As for the DR's role in the EPA negotiations the country was applauded for its efficiencies during the process. In fact, CRNM officials agreed that the DR, because of its CAFTA negotiations with the US, had all ready been ahead of the curve and that it was CARICOM that had to make concessions for the DR. The DR, according to Gill, could have held out longer for certain concessions under the agreement, but sacrificed and accommodated to CARICOM. Lu Olivero of dr1.com (http://dr1.com) represented the Dominican Republic at the workshop. For continuing coverage of the EPA please go to the DR1 trade page: www.dr1.com/trade (http://www.dr1.com/trade)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)