Remarks Ms.

Barbara Williams National EPA Implementation Coordinator

Presentation on the The Core Features and Principles of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement at Antigua and Barbuda Rotary Club Meeting

City View Hotel, Newgate Street, St. Johns, Antigua Wednesday June 1st, 2011

Greetings President and Executive Members of the Rotary Club Other distinguished members Good afternoon.

Let me first extend my appreciation to your president for extending an invitation to the EPA Unit to speak to you on the, Core Principles and Features of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.

The presentation will be divided into four parts as such I will give: i. ii. iii. iv. a background to the EPA identify the core trading arrangements in the EPA look at the development dimensions of the EPA and look at implementation and the role of the national EPA Unit in this process.

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Background The CARIFORUM1 countries and the European Community (EU)2 launched the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations in August 2004, it took the parties just a little over four years to complete the negotiations and the EPA was signed on October 15th, 2008. This agreement is characterized as a trade and economic partnerships between the CARIFORUM countries and the EU. It is however worthy to note that the CARIFORUM-EPA is the first EPA to be completed between EU and one of the six sub-regions of the ACP.

The EPA solves a long running dispute between the EU and the ACP and other developing countries. Under the WTO rules, developed countries must treat all developing countries equally rather than favour those where they have historical or cultural links with. As such the EPA replaces the trade provisions of the Cotonou Agreement signed in 2000
1

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana. 2 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

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in which the EU unilaterally granted the ACP countries non-reciprocal market access to Europe on more favourable terms than those enjoyed by goods from other countries.

As part of this arrangement, there were special access for some traditional exports like sugar, rum, rice, and bananas into the EU market. Therefore, The EU and the ACP agreed with the other WTO members to negotiate new WTO compatible trade arrangements under a special waiver from their WTO commitments that expired in 2007. To comply with the WTO rules the EPA which was negotiated established a Free Trade Area that opens up substantially all trade between the ACP and the EU. Hence the provisions of the EPA makes full use of the provision in the WTO rules for exclusions3, safeguards and monitoring to protect sensitive and emerging industries4. It also includes provisions

Countries are free to exclude any item from liberalization or apply special treatment in an agreement or have special carve outs. 4 Safeguard provisions are usually place in trade agreements to protect vulnerable industries; these include suspension of particular provisions of an agreement before or after the treat of injury. The EPA includes special and differential treatment that addresses the constraint of size and vulnerability.

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relating to national treatment (non-discrimination)5, and most-favoured nation treatment6.

Core trading arrangements in the EPA The application and scope of the EPA expands the former commitments under the Lom Conventions on market access from trade in goods to market access for trade in services and a range of additional subject areas such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, investment, trade facilitation, competition policy and intellectual property rights. In the area of trade in goods immediate duty-free/quota free market access for all CARIFORUM goods into the EU with some exceptions. On the other hand CARIFORUM has begun to reduce its tariff on a phased basis for specific items at the commencement of this year. The phased

Imported and locally produced goods should be treated equally at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to foreign and domestic services. 6 Countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. Grant someone a special favour (such as lower customs duties for one product) and you have to do the same for all other WTO members

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reduction of tariffs spans the period 2009 2033, this will give CARIFORUM countries time to find alternative sources of revenue.

The investment services and e-commerce provisions of the EPA contains comprehensive rules and regulatory principles for services and investment including national treatment and most favoured nation treatment. Both sides agreed to cooperate on e-commerce and not to charge customs duties on electronically delivered products. For the purpose of investment it includes provisions to safeguard the public interest. It requires that governments take measures to ensure that investors safeguard the environment and maintain high labour and occupational health and safety standards. Additionally, both sides have also agreed not to impose restrictions on the free movement of capital related to these provisions of the EPA. However, the parties to the agreement have the right to implement preventative or precautionary measures in the event that in the event there is any threat to the monetary or exchange rate policy.
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The trade related issues coved by the agreement include (competition, innovation and intellectual property, public procurement, social aspects, environment and personal data protection). These provisions are intended to support the economic and social components of the EPA, as well as to protect the trade within the market place.

As with any other trade agreement the dispute avoidance and settlement provisions of the agreement outlines that dispute resolution mechanism which can be facilitated in three ways, consultation, mediation or arbitration. On the other hand, the institutional provisions7 of the agreement were designed to ensure that the objectives of the agreement are meet and also as a means of dispute avoidance among the parties.

It creates the establishment of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council, CARIFORUM-EU Trade and Development Committee, the CARIFORUM-EU Parliamentary Committee, and the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee.

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The Development Dimensions of the EPA The EPA is unique amongst other arrangements involving the Caribbean, in that it is the first and only by-regional agreement encompassing the CARIFORUM configuration. It provides the framework to support the impetus for regional integration amongst the CARIFORUM. Underpinned by a development dimension, the agreement takes into account the differences in the levels of size and development thereby creating an agreement with a wider scope than just a traditional Free Trade Agreement. The development package is critical to the provision of the development financing necessary to build the export capacity, infrastructure and institutional strengthening of the Caribbean private and public sector to take advantage of the market opportunities presented. Allied to this, the package constitutes technical and financial assistance in all the subject specific areas as well as a standalone chapter on development which will be used to put in place an enabling environment for trade under the agreement.

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EPA Implementation the role of the Unit Following the signature of the agreement in 2008, a national EPA Implementation Unit was created in the Office of the NAO for the EDF to monitor, manage and implement the provisions of the agreement. The Unit commenced its work in November 2010 and to date have undertaken public sector consultations to determine the gaps in relation to the requirements of the EPA, focus group workshops, cabinet submissions etc.

For the implementation of the agreement to take effect the legislative and administrative changes required must keep pace with the timelines within the agreement and this is dependent on our internal capacity to so. Also the institutional strengthening of key implementing agencies such as the Bureau of Standards, the Analytical Labs will not only support the implementation of the EPA, but regional integration through the CSME and the OECS Economic Union.

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To access the development cooperation assistance package of the agreement, the national efforts must be coordinated, and linked to national development priorities. As such project proposals must be impactful and meaningful.

Finally distinguished ladies and gentlemen the most of the commentaries at the national and regional levels have declared and even questioned the importance and benefits of the EPA. I submit to you that for the region to derive the benefits from the EPA one of the key elements we must have is a long-term development plan which should include sectoral linkages. Plus the EPA does not commit us to do anything more than we were required to do on our own for our development.

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