OECS Secretariat convenes consultation to discuss trade agreement

Private and Public sector stakeholders are now better informed on the negotiations of the CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development agreement including its scope objectives and rationale.

A one-day national consultation was convened to discuss the agreement and was held on Thursday at the Garraway Hotel.

This comes as a result of the OECS Secretariat seeking to give effect to Article 3(1) of the Protocol to the Revised Treaty of Bassterre establishing the OECS Economic Union, which requires that OECS Member States adopt harmonized approaches in negotiations with third parties for trade agreements

Critical Aspects of the CARICOM-Canada negotiations which remain outstanding were highlighted during the meeting.  The representatives of the private and public sectors identified areas that were of interest and concern with regard to the draft texts on cultural cooperation and trade and innovation.

The consultation sought to increase stakeholders and industry practitioner’s awareness on the negotiations between CARICOM and Canada.  It also provided an opportunity for the private and public sector to participate in the negotiating process.

Ruth Allport, permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade told reporters that relations between the OECS and Canada has been a rewarding one for the region and dates back several years.

“The Caribbean community including Dominica has had a very long, beneficial arrangement with Canada.  Canada has provided the region with a lot of assistance since 1993, over two billion dollars worth of assistance to the Caricom community. Canada is very open and understanding in terms of issues surrounding the vulnerability of small states and development issues small states like those of the Caribbean region face. The new trade agreement [does] not focus only focus on trade but on trade and development. So for Caribbean countries and in particular, Dominica, we have to focus on areas that will ensure economic development.

Allport expressed her expectations of the consultation.

“At the end of this session we hope that the facilitating team that is with us here today will have enough recommendations and positions from Dominican nationals that they can incorporate within the proposals that they are developing with the expectation that there will be a regional consultation to look at all the different proposals and positions from the different countries of CARICOM.”