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| OECS Trade Ministers Prepare for Canada Negotiations |
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| Written by Media |
| Tuesday, 21 October 2008 16:08 |
 OECS Trade Ministers want to see the areas of Services, Development and Special and Differential Treatment for their small island states, become integral in the OECS Strategy and Approach to negotiating Bilateral Trade Agreements, including the upcoming CARICOM-Canada negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement. The Ministers made the recommendation at a meeting on September 24th in St. Lucia at which the launch of the CARICOM-Canada negotiations was a major talking point. The Ministers’ meeting was preceded by a meeting of Senior Trade Experts and Private Sector Representatives which reviewed and provided recommendations on a Draft Strategy and Approach prepared specifically for the OECS region, to guide its participation in bilateral trade negotiations, with particular emphasis on the CARICOM-Canada talks.
The Ministers were of the view that a special and differential carve out for the OECS in the upcoming negotiations have to be commensurate with OECS levels of development and should be guided by considerations of enhanced and effective access by OECS exporters to Canadian markets, particularly for services exports, flexible rules, sustained trade capacity building measures and development support similar to what has already been secured in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union. They also felt that the deliberations on Development should be instructed by the current thrust of the OECS in diversifying their economic bases with a focus on Services areas such as Professional Services, Cultural Industries, Medical Tourism, Research and Development and Innovation.  The Meeting agreed that there was need for the OECS Member States to pursue and adopt a uniformed approach to making liberalization commitments in the services sector. The Ministers noted the importance of transportation to realizing meaningful benefits of the proposed trade agreement and called for provisions that would ensure technical assistance and co-operation in transportation initiatives. They also called for simplified Rules of Origin for specific tariff lines that are important to key OECS exporting sectors and expansion of productive capacities. Recommendations from the OECS Trade Ministers Meeting will feed into the broader regional negotiating Brief being prepared for CARICOM. The COTED will sign off on the CARICOM negotiating Brief towards the end of October 2008, and negotiations with Canada for a Trade and Development Agreement will be launched mid-November. |
| Last Updated on Saturday, 30 May 2009 17:21 |
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