(Thursday September 22^nd , 2011 OECS SecretariatCastriesSt. Lucia) The OECS Trade Policy Unit (OTPU) says a recent Technical Study reveals that except in the case of ICT, OECS Member States need to do more to ensure that they can sufficiently export services toCanada and theUnited States in identified areas.

Commenting on the issue, Head of the OTPU Virginia Paul added that  the Technical study which is geared towards informing  the capacity of OECS Member States to sufficiently supply the identified services to those countries has suggested that services providers need to improve their state of readiness to meet the services required in the targeted markets: “The study also found that there are very few service providers at this point in  time who are servicing the market and that the firms are very small and generally not outward looking and that the markets are quite segmented in spite of the fact that we have operating in the context of an economic union and a CSME. So there are a number of things that have to be addressed at the national level before we can really export services to the USA and Canada on a large scale.”   

OECS Member States recently considered the findings of the Draft Final Report of the Technical Study relating to enhancing services trade with Canadaand the USAthrough Bilateral Trade Agreements at a  consultation with public and private sector representatives on August 30^th in Antigua and Barbuda.  The consultation reviewed the existing and emerging market opportunities for OECS Services Exports toCanada and theUnited States of America in order to obtain tangible benefits for services exporters from the imminent Trade Agreement withCanada and any future Free Trade Agreements theUSA

At the consultation Services Officials and Representatives from the Coalitions of Services Industries and the Chambers of Commerce discussed barriers and constraints that have impeded the performance of OECS services trade. They also provided negotiating strategies for enhancing export opportunities intoCanadaand theUSAfor sectors of interest such as cultural (entertainment), professional, management consulting, health tourism, education, construction services and ICT services.

The OECS Trade Policy Unit says despite some impediments there are several services export opportunities available to OECS Member States: “All is not lost. There are still some opportunities for us in areas like Management Consulting, in Tourism for example Health Tourism and Entertainment. But there is a lot of work to do such as training of services providers and improving the business environment in which they operate.”-Virginia Paul

The consultation also identified sectors for which development assistance should be sought, as well as sectors and/or sub-sectors in which regulatory reform, institutional strengthening and marketing and development programmes are required in order to increase exports.

The workshop was facilitated under the OECS Trade Capacity Building Programme: financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.