Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016

interface with regional policymakers. However, the

onusisalsoonSMEstoorganisethemselvesandbuild

capacity to contribute to the regional trade policy

dialogue and negotiations.”

Prime Minister Christie posited that in some ways,

theglobalfinancialandeconomiccrisishasimpacted

regionalgovernments’perceptionofcompetitionand

trade.Hebelievesthatthegreatesteffecthasbeenon

economic development and the Caribbean’s ability

to take advantage of market access opportunities

available under trade agreements.

“Take the CARIFORUM-EU EPA for example.

The region has not successfully maximised on

opportunities under this Agreement for several

reasons, chief among which is the fact that

CARIFORUM exports to the EU are concentrated

in the mineral and traditional commodity product

groups. Further, trade in new sectors is limited

and CARIFORUM has not attained a level of

diversification of exports. Furthermore, no

monitoring system has been established and this

hasaffectedtheextenttowhichthetwopartieshave

beenabletoutiliseobjectivedatatotakethenecessary

decisions, whichwould allow formore success with

theAgreement.”

CARIFORUM and the EU recently conducted a

comprehensive review of the agreement, and their

findings further support PrimeMinister Christie’s

views on the matter. The review identified a

number of challenges as limiting the ability of

CARIFORUM firms to exploit opportunities

under the EPA. For one, the conversion of market

access offered by the EPA into meaningful market

presence remains a major challenge for the private

sector.Thisincludesthelimitedproductivecapacity

and supply side constraints as well as the need for

trade and investment promotion. Moreover, the

investment and trade in services provisions have

not yet yielded the benefits originally envisaged.

In particular, CARIFORUM service suppliers

have faced problems in taking advantage of the

commitmentsintheEPA,suchasthosepertaining

to the temporary presence of natural persons for

business purposes.

The review also revealed a number of existing

factors that limited trade betweenCARIFORUM

States and the EU and its outermost regions,

specifically the application of the Octroi de Mer

in the outermost regions, SPSmeasures, aswell as

technical requirements and voluntary standards;

marketintelligenceandknowledgeof the business

environment and culture; visa requirements; and

limited availability or the high cost of air and

maritime transportation.

Despite these challenges, the affable politician is

We need to provide support for business-friendly policies and programmes, which

can mainstream trade into sustainable development activities and programmes.

Pulse OF THE CARIBBEAN