Castries, St. Lucia, July 5, 2007: OECS Trade ministers will meet in St. Lucia on Wednesday, July 11th.  The Ministers meeting will be preceded by the  Thirteenth meeting of the OECS Trade Negotiations Group (TNG) on July 9th to 10th.  Both meetings will be held at the Coco Palm Hotel.

The Trade Negotiations Group (TNG) was established from an agreement emerging from the 36th meeting of the OECS Heads of Government in June 2002.  The primary objective of the TNG is to facilitate the formulation of OECS positions on external trade negotiations issues.  The Trade Negotiations Group is comprised of trade officials, representatives of the private sector and the OECS Secretariat.

The discussions during the July meetings are expected to focus on critical issues related to the CARIFORUM-EC negotiations towards the drafting of a free trade agreement (called Economic Partnership Agreements), the ongoing negotiations at the World Trade Organisation, the upcoming OECS Trade Policy Review and matters related to the implementation of the CSME. 

Ministers are expected to provide direction to trade negotiators at this critical juncture in the negotiating process for both the EPAs and in the WTO Doha Round.  According to the ACP-EC Cotonou Agreement, the EPA negotiations should be concluded by the end of this year for implementation in 2008.  The Doha negotiations have missed the 2005 deadline for conclusion and have been plagued by several breakdowns and stalemates in the nearly six years since they were launched, the most recent one being in early June.

The Ministers of Trade meeting will be chaired by Minister Anthony Boatswain of Grenada.