January 2010
Trade Policy Unit assist OECS delegations participating in a meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade & Economic Development (COTED)
The Trade Policy Unit in collaboration with the OECS Mission in Geneva provided technical support to officials who will be participating in the upcoming meeting of the COTED scheduled for 4-9 February in Guyana. The Unit prepared a briefing document on various items on the agenda particularly those related to negotiations in the WTO, bananas and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy which can be used to prepare their national brief for the meeting. The Unit also convened a teleconference with the officials to discuss the agenda items of particular concern to them.
The COTED is comprised of trade ministers who deal with the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, External Economic and Trade Relations, trade in goods and services, standards and other related matters.
The Trade Policy Unit in 2010
2010 will be another busy year for the Trade Policy Unit. Some of the major issues that it will deal with are the establishment of a trade regime in the Economic Union, negotiations with Canada and in the WTO, implementation of a project to improve trade facilitation and the CSME Trade and Competitiveness Project, assisting member states to implement the CSME and the WTO Agreement, providing technical support to Coalitions of Service Industries.
The Unit will work with others in the Secretariat, the Hub and Spokes Project, and agencies such as the CARICOM Secretariat and the WTO in order to undertake these agencies. Funding for some of these activities will be obtained from agencies such as CIDA, European Union and the Inter American Development Bank.
The next issue of UpDate will treat with regional and international trade issues.
Email contact: tpu@oecs.org
An Update from the OECS Trade Policy Unit on Trade Matters of Importance to the Sub Region
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