RNM Update - 2001-04-03

8/9/2019 RNM Update - 2001-04-03

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RNM UPDATE

April 03, 2001

Prepared by the Communications Division of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating

Machinery (RNM), this electronic newsletter focuses on the RNM, tradenegotiation issues within its mandate and related activities.

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- WTO DEVELOPMENTS- ACP JOINT MINISTERIAL TRADE COMMITTEE MEETING IN SOUTHAFRICA- RNM TRAINING WORKSHOP ON RULES OF ORIGIN- NEWS BRIEFS

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WTO DEVELOPMENTS

Trade in Services

On 28 March 2001 the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Servicesadopted "Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiation of Trade in Services"(S/L/93), thereby setting the framework for negotiation of further servicesliberalisation in keeping with Article XIX of the General Agreement on Trade inServices (GATS). After long debate and four document revisions, this agreementtakes into account various proposals advanced by developing countries, includingCARICOM, in specifying the agreed Objectives and Principles, Scope, andModalities and Procedures for future negotiations on Services to advance ruleformulation and expand specific commitments in the sector.

The Objectives and Principles stipulate that negotiations shall be conducted on thebasis of progressive liberalisation; they recognise the right of Members toregulate, and to introduce new regulations, on the supply of services. They specifymoreover that negotiations shall aim to increase the participation of developingcountries in trade in services and reaffirm that there shall be appropriate flexibilityfor developing countries. The process of liberalisation shall take place with duerespect for national policy objectives, the level of development and the size of economies of individual Members, both overall and in individual sectors, withdue consideration given to the needs of small and medium-sized service suppliers,particularly those of developing countries.

With respect to Scope, while there shall be no a priori exclusion of any servicesector or mode of supply, special attention shall be given to sectors and modes of

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Qatar Ministerial

Positions are already polarising as to whether the Fourth WTO Ministerial, to beheld in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, should be an occasion for launching acomprehensive new Round of multilateral trade negotiations, an issue which

necessarily influences the preparatory process for the Ministerial. Developedcountries are arguing in essence that a new Round is needed to preventbacksliding into protectionism. The European Union, the major proponent of anew Round, argues with support from Japan for a comprehensive agenda, on theground that this offers the best possibilities for trade-offs and will facilitateconcessions in the agricultural sector, which is heavily subsidised. Faced withdemands from developing countries to make progress on implementation issues,which is their high priority concern, developed countries are attempting to tieprogress in this area to the holding of a new Round. Examples of difficultiesfacing developing countries in implementation relate to the TRIPS, Sanitary andPhytosanitary (SPS) and textiles agreements.

The WTO Director-General, Mike Moore, has also been actively promoting a newRound, which has raised questions as to whether it is correct and proper for himand any other part of the Secretariat to promote a subject over which there is asyet no consensus, and in fact there are serious differences among the membership,and it has been suggested that this compromises the neutrality of the WTOSecretariat.

The position of most developing countries is that they cannot support a newRound unless implementation issues are resolved. Indeed, they generally do notregard a new Round as a priority. For them the multilateral trade agenda isalready packed with mandated negotiations on Agriculture and Servicesunderway, mandated reviews and confidence-building initiatives, even asImplementation issues related to Uruguay Round commitments continue to be amajor concern. They consider that the Ministerial meeting should review andassess ongoing work deriving from the Singapore and Geneva Ministerialmandates and to issue new guidelines for further work. In this contextAmbassador Ransford Smith of Jamaica has argued at a conference organised lastmonth by the Third World Network that, "We don¹t need a new Round nowbecause a major and significant plateau in multilateral trade liberalisation wasattained five years ago and the commitments assumed in that Round are still beingimplemented by a large number of countries... we do not believe that acomprehensive negotiating Round with a slew of new issues will be a desirabledevelopment".

Most developing countries, particularly the smaller ones, already consider thetrade agenda overloaded and do not want to take on more commitments than theycan digest. They will be facing pressures to include in such a negotiationinvestment, competition policy, government procurement (subjects currentlydiscussed within Working Groups), as well as trade and labour standards, trade

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and environment and other "trade-related" new issues. The trade-related prefixcould eventually be attached to human rights, tax systems, cultural behaviour andother subjects. Developing countries have been arguing inter alia that they arestill to realise the much-touted benefits of the Uruguay Round; that they gaveaway too much in that Round, especially in relation to intellectual property rights;

that the system is not equitable; that issues related to capacity building have notbeen addressed sufficiently; and that the internal transparency of the WTOcontinues to require overhaul. The challenge in the coming months is fordeveloping countries to act concertedly in protecting their interests.

ACP JOINT MINISTERIAL TRADE COMMITTEE MEETING IN SOUTHAFRICA

At the invitation of the Government of South Africa 18 ACP Ministers, who aremembers of the Joint Trade Ministerial Committee under the ACP-EU CotonouAgreement, will attend a meeting from from April 10 - 11 on the theme of 'Perspectives for the ACP on Negotiations with the European Union'. SouthAfrica's intention is to share with ACP Ministers the experience of negotiatingwith the EU their bilateral free trade agreement on Trade, Development andCooperation. Negotiations for this agreement were formally initiated in June 1995and concluded at the Berlin Summit of March 1999 opening the way for bilateraltrade to be entirely liberalised over 12 years.

The last afternoon session of the second day is devoted to a 'Meeting of ACPMinisterial Trade Committee'. At this session Minister Anthony Hylton of Jamaica is expected to speak to the need for the development of an ACPnegotiating strategy for the negotiations with the EU beginning in September2002. CARICOM's Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)previously agreed the RNM's proposal for early dialogue with African and PacificMinisters on this matter. With the benefit of the RNM's studies, CaribbeanMinisters hope to develop an ACP process for formulating the negotiatingstrategy.

Jamaica, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic are the three Caribbean membersof the Trade Ministerial Committee. The RNM's Chief Negotiator Sir ShridathRamphal will also participate in the meeting.

RNM TRAINING WORKSHOP ON RULES OF ORIGIN

Continuing its series of training workshops on trade negotiation subjects fundedthrough the CRNM/IDB Project, a Training Workshop on Rules of Origin will beheld in Barbados from May 3-5, 2001. The purpose of the Workshop is to:

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-provide participants with an appreciation of the structure and content of Rules of Origin which are being administered in preferential schemes, particularly those insub-regional groupings and bilateral arrangements in this Hemisphere;

-provide an overview of the status of the work being undertaken in the WTO and

the WCO (World Customs Organisation) on non-preferential Rules of Origin;-examine the implications for the region of the uthorized on of general Rulesof Origin;

-equip participants to contribute to the development of the CARICOM negotiatingposition on Rules of Origin in the FTAA.

This Workshop is of particular relevance to CARICOM, which has not been directlyinvolved in the work being undertaken by the WTO and WCO on the uthorized on of

non-preferential Rules of Origin, but which will need to know the implications of thesemeasures. This Workshop is thus particularly relevant to the work of trade officials,Customs Administrations, Chambers of Commerce, and the private sector (with specialemphasis on the productive sectors). For further information please [email protected]

BRIEFS

DR-Haiti Free Trade Talks

The Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Dominican Republic Angel Lockwardannounced upon his return from Haiti on March 29 that talks will be held to worktowards the signing of a free trade agreement with the neighbouring country. In Haiti, hehad met with Prime Minister Jean Marie Cherestal and Minister of Industry andCommerce Stanley Theard on the subject.

DR Free Zones

The director of the Dominican Republic’s National Council of Export Free Zones, JanetteDominguez, said that the 481 businesses in operation in 2000 generated US$1,018million, up 14.7% from US$887.3 million in 1999. Of the free zone operations, 52% aretextile operations, 12% services, 6% tobacco plants and 4% footwear companies. In2000, eight new free zone parks were approved, calling for a RD$331 million investmentand the creation of 38,000 new jobs.

Pro-Cuba Lobby Formed in U.S.

The Cuba Policy Foundation, a new non-partisan, privately-funded U.S. lobby group ledby former State Department officials in Republican Administrations, was announced on

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March 28. The Foundation, to be located in Washington D.C.,is advocating an end to theU.S. ban on trade with Cuba and the complete uthorized on of relations. The Group’spresident Ambassador Sally Grooms Cowal, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Statefor Inter-American Affairs Under President George Bush and Ambassador to Trinidadand Tobago under President Clinton, argues that there is a silent majority, including

Cuban Americans, who are not in favour of the current policy and has vowed to counterthe influence gained by Cuban American exiles in the Bush administration. AmbassadorCowal housed Elian Gonzales and his father last year while they lived in Washington,D.C. The Group hopes to build support at the grass-roots level by educating people towhat the United States is really missing out on with a failed policy on Cuba. The boardchairman of the foundation is William Rogers, who was Assistant Secretary of State forInter-American Affairs under former President Gerald Ford.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recipients of RNM UPDATE are uthorized to forward this newsletter to otheraddresses. We welcome suggestions for additions to our mailing list. If, on the otherhand, you wish to be removed from the list, kindly inform us.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry S. GillCommunications Director/ Team Leader CARICOM Trade Project,Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)”Windmark”, First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264http://www.caribrnm.net

* * *RNM UPDATE

April 12, 2001

Prepared by the Communications Division of the Caribbean Regional NegotiatingMachinery (RNM), this electronic newsletter focuses on the RNM, trade negotiationissues within its mandate and related activities.

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- FTAA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION- WTO: THE WAIVER ISSUE- EU AND USA REACH BANANA AGREEMENT- HISTORIC OECS TELECOMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT- NEWS BRIEFS

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FTAA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION

Trade Ministers from the 34 countries negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americasagreement held their Sixth Meeting in Buenos Aires on April 7, 2001. The MinisterialDeclaration issued at the end of the meeting guide upcoming negotiations, which willcontinue to follow the general principle that all delegations have the right to present anytext proposals deemed relevant. The following are some key decisions emanating fromthe meeting, including those of particular concern to smaller economies:

Date for conclusion of negotiations: Perhaps the major issue facing the meeting was aproposal championed by Canada, Chile and the USA to advance the deadline forconcluding negotiations from "no later than 2005", as agreed at the December 1994Miami Summit, to 2003. The Ministers will recommend to the Quebec Summit of Headsof Government (April 20-22) that FTAA negotiations be concluded no later than January2005 and entry into force of the agreement should take place as soon as possiblethereafter but no later than December 2005. This decision defeats the 2003 proposal.CARICOM had earlier expressed a lack of support for any advancement in the date.Opposition to advancing the deadline also came from the MERCOSUR delegation, inparticular, Brazil.

Negotiations Timetable: Considerable work will have to done by CARICOM within thenext eleven months. The Ministers instructed the Negotiating Group on Market Access tosubmit to the Trade Negotiations Committee, in co-ordination with the NegotiatingGroup on Agriculture, recommendations on the methods and modalities for tariff negotiations by April 1, 2002 to be considered by the TNC at its first meeting followingthat date, in order to initiate negotiations no later than May 15, 2002. [The US hadoriginally suggested that submissions be made by November 1, 2001 with negotiationsstarting in the second semester of 2002, which CARICOM indicated was not realistic orattainable]. May 15, 2002 is also stipulated as the deadline for the start of negotiations onother subjects (Investment, Subsidies, Government Procurement).

Smaller Economies: Concerns of CARICOM and others regarding the smallereconomies dimension of the process were unambiguously addressed. The Ministers notonly reaffirmed their commitment to continue to take into account the differences in thelevels of development and size of economies but also reiterated the importance of strengthening the productive capacity and competitiveness of the smaller economies, aswell as providing technical assistance and special provisions to enable these economies toparticipate in and benefit from the process. Additionally the Trade NegotiationsCommittee is required to formulate by November 1, 2001, with the support of theConsultative Group on Smaller Economies and the Tripartite Committee, someguidelines or directives on ways of applying the treatment of the differences in the levelsof development and size of economies. The November 1, 2001 deadline represents a

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consideration of the matter will take place at a meeting in Panama at the end of April.

The full text of the Ministerial Declaration is available at www.ftaa-alca.org/ministerials/BAMIN_e.asp

WTO: THE WAIVER ISSUE

The Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG), the Ambassador of Hungary, onApril 10 initiated informal consultations with a group of ACP States on the continuingstalemate with respect to the consideration of the ACP-EC waiver request regarding theCotonou Agreement. The Chair informed ACP States of his informal consultations withtwo groups of WTO developing country Members over the past few days: the first group- the Central American banana exporters; the second - Members with so-called 'systemicconcerns'. The Chair observed that his consultations revealed a possible hardening of positions in opposition to the ACP-EC waiver request.

He noted that the first group, the Central American banana exporters, maintained theirlong-standing opposition to consideration of the ACP-EC waiver request on the groundthat there was insufficient documentation on the table. They asserted that they wereunable to make any judgement on the extent of preferences to be conferred on ACPbanana producers before the EC implementing regulations were adopted. This, accordingto the EC, should be in place by the middle of May.

The second group of developing country Members expressed concerns with respect to thebroad preferences conferred by the Cotonou Agreement. They asserted that they have'systemic' concerns with the discriminatory nature of the Cotonou Agreement whichplaces some developing countries at a disadvantage vis-à-vis others. They therefore areseeking compensation for potential losses in market share which are likely to resultthrough implementation of the Cotonou Agreement. Although the Chair of the CTG didnot list those WTO Members falling within the second group of countries, he did notethat those developing countries within the so-called 'second group' had already gone onrecord in previous CTG meetings raising certain concerns with the discriminatory natureof preferences: most notably, Paraguay, Brazil and the Philippines.

A significant clarification of the position of this second group of developing countrieswas provided by the Chairman of the CTG. He informed ACP States that this secondgroup is of the view that their concerns are sufficiently fundamental, viz. 'systemic', thatthe CTG may not proceed with consideration of the ACP-EC waiver request. Indeed,Members of this second group have apparently proposed that a working group beestablished to deliberate on appropriate remedial measures to be taken to alleviate thenegative impact of the Cotonou Agreement on non-ACP developing country Members.This second group is of the view that the said working group should be established beforebeginning examination of the ACP-EC waiver request a step which would beunprecedented in the WTO era.

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be definitively lifted.

The European Union will begin negotiations necessary under WTO rules in time tointroduce the tariff-only system from January 1, 2006. The European Commission willnow table the necessary proposals to the Council of Ministers and the European

Parliament in order to fully implement the agreement as soon as possible.As further details are made available the RNM will make available an analysis of theimplications of this accord for Caribbean bananas.

HISTORIC OECS TELECOMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT

On April 7 an historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was concluded in Grenadabetween five OECS Contracting States (Grenada, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Cable and Wireless, smoothing transitionto a liberalised and competitive telecommunications environment in the OECS. The needfor this agreement derived from the contradiction between C&W's exclusive licencerights to own and operate telecommunications facilities and to providetelecommunications services in each of the OECS Contracting States, on the one hand,and the enactment by OECS States of harmonised Telecommunications Acts and theplanned promulgation of harmonised Telecommunications Regulations to give effect tothe new liberalised environment, on the other hand.

The introduction of the new Telecommunications Acts requires that all telecom providersobtain new non-exclusive licenses to operate in the OECS Contracting States. This hasresulted inter alia in the termination of C&W's licenses save in the case of St. Lucia,where C&W's domestic, international and cellular operating licenses expired on March31, 2001.

The MOU provides that liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in the OECSContracting States shall be on a phased basis, commencing on the 1st of April 2001(Phase 1), during which new licenses "shall only be issued to operators other than Cable& Wireless" for the provision of specified networks and services. The transition period tofull competition and liberalisation of the telecommunications sector shall be a minimumperiod of 12 months commencing on the 1st of April 2001, up to a maximum period of 18months therefrom (Phase 2). Phase 2 of the Transition Plan shall commence at theconclusion of Phase 1. At that time, all restrictions that apply to the issuance of licencesduring Phase 1 shall no longer apply.

During Phase 1 the Contracting Parties agree to use their best endeavours to prevent andstop bypass of Cable & Wireless¹ network, through regulatory or other action permittedby law and through public education. The Contracting Parties agree in principle torebalancing, based upon full disclosure of agreed supporting cost data and its derivation.The parties shall ensure that any necessary rebalancing between international anddomestic tariffs is substantially achieved as soon as possible during Phase 1. C&W will

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be granted upon application a new non-exclusive operating license or licenses to provideat least the same networks and services as are currently provided.

The agreement provides that Marpin Telecoms and Broadcasting Company Limited inDominica shall be licensed to provide international voice services in the Commonwealth

of Dominica during Phase 1 and that Cable & Wireless shall be obliged to providedomestic interconnection to Marpin. Cable & Wireless shall "make itself available tomeet with Global Network Providers Grenada Inc. to discuss possible commercialarrangements to accommodate the provision of telecommunications services in Grenada".

Another provision of the MOU is that C&W has agreed to relinquish and waive all claimsagainst each of the OECS Contracting States arising as a result of the introduction of theTelecommunications Acts and the OECS Contracting States have agreed to relinquishand waive all claims against C&W for any or all breaches of its exclusive operatinglicences in all cases with effect from the commencement of Phase 2 subject to certainagreed provisions.

NEWS BRIEFS

-The Government of Trinidad and Tobago with the Organization of American States,Georgetown University and The World Trade Organization is sponsoring a two-weektraining course for Government Officials entitled: "Multilateral and Regional TradeIssues for the Americas." The course will be conducted in Washington D.C. from June18-28, 2001. The deadline for applications is April 20th. The application form isavailable at http://www.sice.oas.org/cidi/apfora_e.htm

-Chinese President Jiang Zemin said on April 6 in Santiago, Chile, during the second dayof a Latin American tour that an alliance should be formed to allow developing nations tostrengthen their political and economic base in the new world order. Jiang called on thenations of Latin America to work together in several areas, including in the developmentof a new South-South co-operative model. The Chinese president also said China andLatin America should support each other in reforming the United Nations, oninternational security issues, the democratisation of international relations, and in "thedefence of the legitimate interests of developing nations."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recipients of RNM UPDATE are authorised to forward this newsletter to otheraddresses. We welcome suggestions for additions to our mailing list. If, on the otherhand, you wish to be removed from the list, kindly inform us.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry S. GillCommunications Director/ Team Leader CARICOM Trade Project,

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Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)"Windmark", First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264

http://www.caribrnm.net

* * *

RNM UPDATE

May 10, 2001


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- WTO DEVELOPMENTS- U.S. ADMINISTRATION'S TRADE REQUEST- BANANAS- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY- RNM TRAINING WORKSHOP ON DISPUTE SETTLEMENT- UPCOMING EVENTS

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WTO DEVELOPMENTS

Doha Ministerial

On May 3 the General Council held discussions on the Ministerial meeting due to takeplace in Doha, Qatar, in November. The Chair had circulated an initial checklist of issueslikely to be discussed. Many interventions focussed on whether a new round of multilateral trade negotiations should be launched, with developed countries supportingthis objective and developing countries underscoring the importance of implementationissues; for many consider that the difficulties of implementing the Uruguay Roundcommitments (for example, on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical standards,

trade-related intellectual property rights, textiles and clothing, as well as concretisingcertain rules, including on special and differential treatment) must first be resolved beforetackling new commitments. In this regard, Pakistan and India were in the vanguard, asusual. On the other hand, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and MERCOSUR expressed support foranother Round.

Most Latin American countries suggested that their support for a broader Round wasconditioned by an enhanced mandate and accelerated progressive liberalisation in the on-

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to make our trade liberalization and environmental policies mutually supportive, takinginto account work undertaken by the World Trade Organization and other internationalorganizations, and to further secure, in accordance with our respective laws andregulations, the observance and promotion of worker rights, renewing our commitment tothe observance of internationally recognized core labor standards, and acknowledging

that the International Labour Organization is the competent body to set and deal thosecore labor standards". As part of his strategy in approaching Congress, President GeorgeW. Bush is expected to propose boosting the role of the International Labor Organization(ILO) in governing trade.

BANANAS

EC Regulations Approved

On May 2 the European Commission adopted a regulation to implement the bananaimport regime in line with the understanding arrived at with the US and later withEcuador, as reported in previous issues of RNM UPDATE. The new rules, which aregazetted as Regulation 896, cover the management of import licence arrangements from1 July 2001 as a transitional arrangement until 2006 when a tariff-only system comesinto effect. The rules are complex and can give rise to interpretation and applicationissues by the various EU competent national authorities, known as Intervention Boards.The next step will be a Commission proposal to the Council to adjust the quantities inthe various quotas, in order to expand access for Latin American bananas and to secure amarket share for a specific quantity of bananas of ACP origin.

According to an EC release, the new arrangements will continue to be largely managedon the basis of historical references, with 83% of the quantities of the quotas managed inthis way. However, in order to meet the requirements of the international obligations of the EU, and to ensure that non-traditional operators can pursue trade in bananas,significant changes have been introduced. The major adjustment is the predominant useof a new definition of traditional operators that will now be based on primary importers,that is, importers who own or buy bananas in the country of origin and ship them to theEU. Seventeen percent of the quantities will be reserved for similar operators who do nothave a suitable historic reference, a percentage very close to the requests of Ecuador. Thisquantity will be managed on a 'simultaneous examination'. This means that operators askat the same time (within a limit) for a quantity. Their requests are (partially) met withinthe total quantity available, using a fair "pro rata" formula. This formula means that if requests total, for example, twice the quantity available then everyone gets half of thequantity that they requested.

Some Implications

An initial assessment of the likely impact of the new banana regime was made availableto the RNM by the Jamaica Marketing Company (JAMCO) in London. JAMCOconsiders that the litmus test is the extent to which the regime delivers access for ACP

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bananas to the EU market and also provides a remunerative return to suppliers of ACPbananas. Some of the conclusions drawn are summarised herein.

-With respect to access, in Phase I all countries can access the 850,000 tonnes of QuotaC. ACP exports enter duty-free while third countries' exports face a euro 300 per tonne

duty, which might be lowered to facilitate "sufficient quantities" of Latin Americanbananas in that quota to prevent EC exposure to the risk of an Article XIII violation.Unofficially, EC representatives state the figure of 100,000 tonnes as meeting thiscriterion. This eventuality offers legitimate grounds to fear that not all ACP exports willenter Quota C if ACP exports to the EU are kept at the 775,000 tonnes per annumaverage for the period 1998 2000, since some ACP suppliers will experience difficulty inattaining access to the EU market. Furthermore, any reduction in the tariff levied on thirdcountries' imports will be at the expense of the high cost ACP producers, viz. Jamaicaand the Windward Islands. In Phase II, the available volume in Quota C falls by 100,000tonnes to 750,000 tonnes and is hermetically sealed for the exclusive use of ACPbananas. Such a move would snuff out the competition between Latin American and ACPbananas while maintaining the real threat of not all ACP exportable bananas entering theEU.

-With respect to remunerative return, the Commission's stipulation that 100,000 tonnes of Latin American bananas should enter via Quota C in Phase I and via Quota A/B in PhaseII will trigger an over-supplied market thereby depressing prices. Secondly, thedismantling of country specific quotas compounds the problem of increased supplies.With the removal of this measure, Ecuador is no longer pegged to a market share of 26.1% of Quotas A and B. Although Ecuador raised its minimum export price from US$2.10 per 18.14-kg box to $2.90, even at this increased price, the competitiveness of Ecuadorian bananas is unrivalled. For example, Costa Rica's minimum export price is$5.60 per box. Thirdly, licences will now be concentrated in the hands of a small band of operators increasing their ability to exert pressure on producers to accept lower prices.The top five operators (Chiquita 35%, Fyffes 12%; Dole 11%; Del Monte 9% and Noboa8%) would account for 75% of all available licences in the quotas reserved for LatinAmerican imports.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

On May 3 the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) concluded in Geneva thefirst Intergovernmental Committee on Questions of Intellectual Property in relation toGenetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. The 3-day meeting wasintended to establish areas of consensus on these issues. On genetic resources, membercountries were very much in favour of reflecting on contractual instruments andadministrative and legal measures as means of securing access to and sharing of benefits.On traditional knowledge, countries wanted to see the work of the Committee concretelydirected towards the establishment of a definition of traditional knowledge, theclarification of linkages between existing intellectual property rights and traditionalknowledge, and on research for new standards. A majority of members overtly supportedthe idea of the creation of a regulatory framework in the field of traditional knowledge,

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aimed at organising international action for the protection and sharing of benefits relatedto their exploitation. Regarding the search for solutions within multilateral systems, manydelegates pointed to ongoing processes in this area already underway in the UN Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO) and the WTO's Council for Trade in IntellectualProperty Rights (TRIPs). The next meeting is likely take place in October 2001. Further

detail is obtainable at http://www.wipo.org/news/en/

RNM TRAINING WORKSHOP ON DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

Continuing its series of training workshops on trade negotiation subjects funded throughthe CRNM/IDB Project, the RNM is organising this two-day Workshop at the AccraBeach Resort in Barbados on June 7-8. Dispute Settlement is interlinked with thesubstantive obligations that CARICOM member states assume in international tradeagreements and is fundamental to the maintenance of negotiated rights. The target groupis senior government officials and officials of regional Secretariats with relevantportfolios, private sector and NGO interests, as well as attorneys with a particular interestin trade law. The Workshop will:

-promote a better understanding of the concept of dispute settlement among negotiators inthe region;-enhance the ability of countries to fully participate in the negotiations both at theregional (FTAA) and multilateral levels (WTO)-increase the awareness of the importance of this issue to the governments and officials inthe region and the prospects for ensuring an effective presence in future disputesettlement discussions-examine key aspects of the WTO DSU and its operation-examine possible critical concerns for CARICOM, in relation to regional andmultilateral dispute settlement systems, such as availability of resources, and effectiverepresentation, intra-CARICOM consultation-examine the US Section 301 regime which led to the second banana panel to gain agreater understanding of the US internal processes-examine Protocol IX of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy which, amongother things, establishes the Caribbean Court of Justice-explore the dispute settlement discussions at the FTAA level and increase the conceptualtools and practical knowledge of the negotiators to fully participate in this process.-explore other methods of dispute settlement such as arbitration, mediation consultationetc.

For further information please contact [email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS

FTAA Negotiations

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The negotiations calendar for the remainder of May is as follows: Market Access (14-16);Government Procurement (17-18); Competition Policy (21-22); Subsidies, Anti-dumpingand Countervailing Duties (23-24); Intellectual Property Rights (28-29); Agriculture (30-31)

ACP Meetings in BrusselsMay 11: The 26th Session of the ACP-EC Joint CouncilMay 12: ACP ministerial consultations in view of the 3rd UN Conference on LDC's(May 14-20)May 13: 2nd Meeting of the ACP Ministerial Trade CommitteeMay 14: 1st ACP-EU Trade Ministerial Committee


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Communications DirectorCaribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)"Windmark", First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264http://www.caribrnm.net

* * *RNM UPDATE

April 30, 2001


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- EU-ECUADOR BANANA AGREEMENT- G-24 TARGETS PROTECTIONISM IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES- POST-URUGUAY ROUND MARKET ACCESS- NEWS BRIEFS- UPCOMING MEETINGS

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EU-ECUADOR BANANA AGREEMENT

The EU and Ecuador announced today they have reached an Understanding to resolve

their long-standing dispute over bananas in the WTO. This follows on the April 11agreement between the European Commission and the United States, which Ecuador hadrejected. Today's understanding is said to be fully compatible with the one reachedbetween the EU and the US. It recognises Ecuador's rights as the principal supplier andsets out, in detail, the qualification and management provisions governing the "non-traditional operators" through a change in the proposed regulations. These initiallystipulated (a) the need to be established in Europe; (b) to be involved in European bananatrade, and (c) to have a minimum turnover in any one of the last three years of 400,000Euros. This latter figure has now been raised to 1.2 million Euros, which accords withEcuador's interests and also benefits ACP suppliers. Caribbean producers meeting lastweekend in Miami with Ecuador had favoured an even higher level of 4 million Euros.

The new regime abolishes the EU's import breakdown on a country quota basis, increasesthe import volumes from Latin America by 100,000 tons, and improves market access totraditional and non traditional importers from Ecuador. The EU will institute a system of licensing, based on historic reference reference periods from July 1, 2001, reserving "avery significant share" of the trade for non-traditional operators working within an openand competitive environment thus facilitating access for small and medium sizedbusinesses. The transitional arrangement will last until January 1, 2001, when a tariff-only system is scheduled to take effect.

The EC will now initiate the necessary procedures to propose to the Council of Ministersan adjustment in the quantities in the various quotas, in order to expand access for LatinAmerican bananas and to secure a market share for a specific quantity of bananas of ACPorigin. Ecuador has pledged to work actively to secure acceptance of the EU's request forthe necessary WTO authorisation. The EU will begin negotiations with producingcountries necessary under WTO rules in good time to introduce the eventual tariff-onlysystem. The EC will now table the necessary proposals to the Council of Ministers andthe European Parliament in order to fully implement the agreement as soon as possible.Caribbean producers need to evaluate the impact of this modification of the April 11agreement with the USA.

G-24 TARGETS PROTECTIONISM IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Ministers of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International MonetaryAffairs held their sixty-fifth meeting in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2001. Thecommuniqué issued by these developing country representatives addressed, among othersubjects, Trade and Development. While noting that the share of developing countries inworld trade has increased in the last three decades, they recognized, however, "that manydeveloping countries, particularly low-income countries, have not benefited from this

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trade expansion. This is due, in part, to protectionist mechanisms, such as anti-dumpingand countervailing duties, as well as subsidies in advanced economies and the slowimplementation of trade liberalization agreements, such as those in agriculture, whichimpose prohibitive costs on developing countries".

"Barriers to developing country exports in industrialized markets continue to severelydisadvantage developing countries. For example, industrialized countries spend morethan $300 billion a year on agricultural subsidies, which is roughly equivalent to the totalGNP of sub-Saharan Africa, and their tariffs on meat, fruit, and vegetables‹all primaryexports from the developing world‹can exceed 100 percent. These have the effect of inhibiting developing country exports and competitiveness. It is conservatively estimatedthat costs in terms of foregone income to developing countries from trade restrictions ontheir exports exceed $100 billion a year. It is pertinent to note that aggregate aid flows todeveloping countries are less than $60 billion a year. Furthermore, FDI flows remainconcentrated in a small number of developing countries, but many more are yet to receiveFDI at the levels necessary to spur their development".

POST-URUGUAY ROUND MARKET ACCESS

The WTO Secretariat has produced a new study evaluating post-Uruguay Round marketaccess conditions after more than five years of the existence of the Agreement. The study,entitled Market Access: Unfinished Business, focuses on market access for industrialproducts, agriculture and services. The following are some findings of the study that :

With respect to industrial products:--for numerous countries, tariffs are bound at levels that are significantly above the ratesactually applied, which does not contribute to the stability of applied rates, sincecountries can, if they wish, raise their applied tariff up to the level of their binding. Thedifferential is illustrated, for example, by the case of Costa Rica with a simple averagebound tariff close to 45% while its average applied rate is just above 6%.-the simple average bound tariff for developed countries is 6.5% but these countries havenumerous tariff peaks, mainly in the textiles and clothing and leather sectors.-most developed countries' tariffs increase with the level of processing. Such "tariff escalation" biases the production structure of developing countries towards less refinedproducts and thus represents a major impediment to their industrialization-anti-dumping investigations have increasingly targeted developing countries; while inthe late 1980s developing countries accounted for around 10% of all anti-dumpinginvestigations, since 1995 they are responsible for approximately half the initiations.

With respect to agriculture:-- agricultural bindings are not always transparent. Transparency and comparability of tariffs is impaired by the use of specific or mixed tariff rates, that is, by non-ad valorem

tariffs.- the share of tariff lines with duties above 100% is very high reaching 45% for India andNorway, and 69% for Bangladesh.

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- only 30 WTO Members have commitments to reduce domestic support to agriculture,the so-called Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) reduction commitments. Foronly half (10) of the 21 committed Members for which sufficient information is available,has the current AMS decreased between 1995 and 1997.- between 1995 and 1998 the average use of export subsidy commitments has increased

for 10 of the 25 countries with reduction commitments.With respect to services:- the current schedules of commitments reflect the status quo of market access rather thanthe result of liberalisation. Many countries have made minimal commitments and eventhe most comprehensive schedules contain a large number of restrictive limitations whichwill be a target for negotiating partners.- of the 160 possible service subsectors on which members can choose to schedulespecific commitments, about one third of WTO Memebrs have made commitments on 20subsectors or less, one third on between 21 and 60 subsectors and the remaining third bymore than 61 subsectors. On average a "typical" Member has undertaken commitmentson slightly more than 25 subsectors, thus covering about 15% of the total possible.-of the sectors attracting the highest number of bindings, tourism, financial and businessservices rank the highest, while health and education services are the elast commonlyscheduled of the major sectors.- the bindings undertaken for mode 2 (consumption abroad) are significantly more liberalthan those for the three other modes

The study is available at http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/maccess_e.pdf

NEWS BRIEFS

Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement signed

The April 23 signing of a FTA by Trade Ministers of Canada and Costa Rica, the firstbetween a "smaller economy" and a G-7 country, can be instructive for Canada-CARICOM trade talks which have only just begun (see RNM UPDATE March 17,2001). Coverage of the agreement, which was signed by Trade Ministers in Ottawa thepresence of Canadian Prime Minster Jean Chrétien and Costa Rican President MiguelÁngel Rodríguez, includes services, investment, government procurement, competitionpolicy, customs procedures and trade facilitation, while taking into account economicdifferences between both countries. It allows free entry for 86% of Costa Rican productsto the Canadian market immediately, 1% in four years and 15% over seven years, whileCosta Rica will open its market to 67% of Canadian products immediately, 18.7% over 7years and 14.7% over 14 years.

The Costa Rican President indicated that the agreement allows sugar producers to export20,000 tons of refined sugar immediately and that this quota would increase graduallyuntil it is eliminated, at prices much higher than on the world market. It is noteworthythat Costa Rica maintains a large trade surplus with Canada, exporting mainly bananas

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(around 33% of the total), pineapples (14%), coffee 11%), as well as semiconductors,melons, sugar, and other products. Costa Rica has already signed free trade agreementswith Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Chile.

Foundation Award for Caribbean Study

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded a US$498,000research grant to support a two-year policy study of governance, security, andglobalisation in the Caribbean. The study focussing on four countries (Trinidad andTobago, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and the Dominican Republic) will be co-directed by Prof.Anthony Bryan of the University of Miami's Dante B. Fascell North-South Center andDr. Anthony Gonzales of the Institute of International Relations at the University of theWest Indies in Trinidad, together with Dr. Stephen Flynn, Senior Fellow for NationalSecurity at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

It recognises that greater openness is central to advancing economic development in theCaribbean but that nations must simultaneously safeguard their sovereign interests in theface of the rising incidence of international organised crime, illegal immigration, tradefraud, disease, narcotics and weapons smuggling, and money laundering. The study willdevelop policy recommendations for governments, regional organisations and the privatesector on how Caribbean states might develop new practices and capabilities to deal withboth imperatives. The project has commenced in Jamaica, where the survey exercise willtake place during June to August. Major seminars with stakeholders and evaluationmeetings will take place in Kingston and Miami during October and November. Thesurvey exercises for Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic willtake place from November 2001-March 2002.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

FTAA

The Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee has released the Schedule of Meetings for the period May 2001 to September 2001. Following the Buenos Aires TradeMinisterial and the recently concluded Quebec Summit negotiating group meetings willresume with Services (May 7-9), which is now chaired by CARICOM, and Investment(May 10-11).

ACP/Europe

8 May - ACP Ministerial consultations on Bananas and SugarACP Ministerial Committees on Development CooperationBureau of the ACP Council

9-10 May - ACP Council of Ministers

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11 May - ACP-EC Council of Ministers

13 May - 2nd Meeting of the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee1st Meeting of the Joint ACP-EC Ministerial Trade Committee


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry S. GillCommunications Director/ Team Leader CARICOM Trade Project,Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)"Windmark", First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264http://www.caribrnm.net

* * *

RNM UPDATE

April 24, 2001


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- QUEBEC CITY SUMMIT- BANANA DEVELOPMENTS- ACP MINISTERIAL DECISIONS- NEWS BRIEF

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QUEBEC CITY SUMMIT

The Third Summit of the Americas Meeting in Quebec City, Canada, on April 20-22approved the Declaration of Quebec City and a Plan of Action "to strengthen democracy,

create prosperity and realize human potential". The Plan covers commitments embracingDemocracy, Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Justice, Rule of Law andSecurity of the Individual; Hemispheric Security; Civil Society; Trade, Investment andFinancial Stability; Infrastructure and Regulatory Environment; Disaster Management;Environmental Foundation for Sustainable Development; Agriculture Management andRural Development; Labour and Employment; Growth with Equity; Education; Health;Gender Equality; Indigenous People; Cultural Diversity.

The Declaration included a 'democratic clause' enshrining the rule of law and respect forthe democratic system as both "a goal and shared commitment" and as "an essentialcondition of our presence at this and future Summits". The democratic clause statedfurther that any unconstitutional alteration or interruption of the democratic order in astate of the Hemisphere constitutes an "insurmountable obstacle" to the participating of that state's government in the Summit process.

CARICOM's position, articulated by Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados at theopening session, had been that their experience had led to "the strong belief that we canand we must fashion a hemispheric community from which no one is excluded, least of all, in the name of democracy. The time must certainly have come for engaging Cubaconstructively in the creation of a comprehensive community of the Americas". Speakingduring the second day's plenary the Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Dr. Kenny Anthony, hadargued also that "merely engaged in regular electoral exercises was not enough and thestrongest traditions of democracy will pale in the face of overwhelming poverty, social

exclusion and economic marginalisation". He argued further that, "Until we can wipe outpoverty from our hemisphere, we cannot claim to have built successful democracies".

With respect to the FTAA, leaders confirmed the decisions of the April 7 Buenos AiresMinisterial (summarised in RNM UPDATE April 12, 2001), including the deadline forconcluding negotiations "no later than January 2005" and to seek its entry into force assoon as possible thereafter but no later than December 2005. Caribbean Heads werepleased that the Summit Declaration endorses the need to "meet the challenges inherentin the differences in size and levels of social, economic and institutional development inour countries and our region". Related parts of the Plan of Action pledged to fostercommunication with civil society to ensure that it has a clear perception of thedevelopment of the FTAA negotiating process and to this end develop a list of optionsthat could include dissemination programs in smaller economies. The TripartiteCommittee institutions (IDB, OAS and ECLAC) are urged "to favourably considerrequests for technical assistance related to FTAA issues from member countries, inparticular from smaller economies, in order to facilitate their integration into the FTAAprocess as well as to develop a list of options that could include dissemination programs

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in smaller economies".

CARICOM will now chair the Negotiating Group on Services and vice-chair the NG onSubsidies, Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties. It is to be noted that Bolivia andNicaragua will be chair and vice-chair the Consultative Group on Smaller Economies. A

new Technical Committee on Institutional Issues has been created and will be chaired byBrazil with Ecuador as Vice-Chair.

A Declaration on Connecting the Americas launched a "Connectivity Agenda for theAmericas" to facilitate the integration of the hemisphere into an increasingly knowledge-based society benefiting all citizens. Canada is lending support through the Institute forConnectivity in the Americas, to be guided by a hemispheric advisory board made up of representatives from governments, non-governmental organisations, business sectors andacademic communities. It will provide a contribution of $20 million to the Institute in thisfiscal year for support of specified programs that connect the hemisphere. Proposedprojects must come from developing countries; must have partners in the government,NGO, business or academic communities; and must support existing local or regionalstrategies for connectivity.

The Summit also provided an opportunity for CARICOM Heads to meet with PresidentBush on April 20, when Heads sought the President's aid in their fight against the OECDand its harmful tax competition scheme.

BANANA DEVELOPMENTS

Sequel to EU-US Agreement

The April 11 agreement on bananas (in RNM UPDATE of April 12) has elicited variedresponses. CARICOM countries do have some concerns since the quota allocated to ACPproducers has been cut from 850,000 tons by 100,000 tons, which other producers will beable to supply. However, their reaction is that the agreement is more acceptable than theprevious "first-come first served"(FCFS) proposal, which CARICOM, the U.S. andCentral American countries had all criticised. This arrangement would have offeredlicences to the first operators to deliver their fruit to EU ports by set target dates atspecific prices. Caribbean producers immediately saw the handicap they would face sincebanana boats moved from island to island to pick up fruit.

On the other hand, the FCFS proposal had been favoured by Ecuador, the world's leadingbanana exporting country. Ecuadorean authorities have reacted strongly to theannouncement of the EU-US deal which was presented to it as a fait accompli and thegovernment is requesting consultations with the EU on the matter. Ecuador has indicatedthat if a satisfactory solution is not found it will not have any other alternative than torequest immediate consultations within the WTO. This position contrasts with the viewexpressed by the European Commission that Ecuador would be able to export morebananas to the EU than under the FCFS proposal.

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Some concerns of Caribbean banana exporters are that while the retention of a tariff-ratequota (TRQ) system secured ACP access to the EU market, remunerative return isseverely jeopardised in two ways. Firstly, siphoning off 100,000 tonnes from the Quota C(ACP fruit) and augmenting Quota B (non-ACP) increases the volume of dollar fruit

imported, thereby depressing prices. Secondly, the system of allocating licences to "non-traditional importers" offers no restitution to disenfranchised operators. If traditionalcommercial partners effectively have no access to dollar bananas, the commercial basisfor their payment of high f.o.t. (free on truck) prices is removed. The EU has granted thetwo US operators increased market share - a development that might lead to reducedproducers' prices.

WTO Waiver discussions

The joint EU-ACP request within the WTO for a waiver of their Partnership Agreementcontinues to face obstacles subsequent to the EU-US banana agreement. The Council forTrade in Goods (CTG), meeting in formal session on April 18 under the chairmanship of Hungary's Ambassador, addressed an agenda of which the main discussion item turnedout to be the waiver issue (Item VI). The session became bogged down after Ecuadorsought to block discussion of the item on the ground that it was not an appropriate agendaitem, a position strongly supported by Paraguay. The EC Representative argued thatconsideration of the item should proceed, and this in light of the banana agreement whichhad been made public. The EC argued moreover that it was incumbent on the CTG to seethat the EU's proposed legislation on a banana regime complied with the details andconditions laid down for approval of a WTO waiver.

Paraguay supported Ecuador's position complaining that only a small number of developing countries were excluded from the Partnership Agreement (PA) and that theywould be disadvantaged, so the PA should be extended to other developing countries.Paraguay then formally proposed the establishment of a working party to examine theimplications of the PA vis-à-vis other developing countries before proceeding to giveconsideration to the ACP-EC waiver request.

Gabon¹s Ambassador, Madame Bike, speaking on behalf of the ACP, noted that patiencehad been exercised thus far and they would wish to move forward on an issue which hadbeen on the table for the past 14 months. Other countries supported the objective thoughsome alluded to the insufficiency of documentation. Latin American banana producers(Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala) indicated willingness to consider the EC-ACPwaiver request, as did the US, Canada and the Czech Republic. Support also came fromMauritius, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Madagascar. St. Lucia intervened following theOECS line of support for the waiver. Discussion of the issue will continue at a later date.

Windward Islands Banana Marketing

Banana restructuring has been taking place at different levels, not the least of which is inits marketing. An industry shift has taken place whereby the Windward Islands Banana

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Development & Exporting Company (WIBDECO) U.K. is now controlling all bananasentering the British market from the four Windward producers. This increases thecompany's leverage with supermarkets regarding banana prices, in a context in whichabout 70 to 75 percent of Windwards fruit are sold to the supermarkets.

It also facilitates marketing of the Windward Islands brand so that consumers knowprecisely where fruit comes from. Previously these bananas were sold as Geest andFyffes bananas which could have come from anywhere. Geographically-identifiedbranding enables the marketing claim that Windward Islands bananas originate from themost ethical source for bananas shipped to Europe. WIBDECO has also moved its officesfrom London to Southampton to carry out marketing, technical support and qualityassessment.

ACP MINISTERIAL DECISIONS

The first meeting of the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee took place in Johannesburg on10 and 11 April. The Committee is composed of 18 members from the 6 ACP sub-regions (Southern African, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, the Pacific andthe Caribbean). Consideration of negotiations with the European Union led to agreementthat while countries and regions were entitled to adopt national or regional approaches tothe upcoming negotiations, it was essential to ensure that there was sufficientcoordination within the ACP Group to prevent any weakening of solidarity among itsmembers.

The Committee agreed that preparations for the negotiation of new trading arrangementswith the EU, scheduled to begin in September 2002, should be accelerated in view of theshort time remaining. In particular, Ministers mandated the ACP Committee of Ambassadors and the Secretariat to prepare draft guidelines. The Committee agreed torecommend to the next ACP Council of Ministers (Brussels, 8-10 May 2001) the draftPlan of Action for preparing the negotiations which sets out the types of activities to beundertaken (regional seminars, impact studies, etc.) and the deadlines to be respected.

The Committee also adopted the agenda of the 1st meeting of the ACP-EU MinisterialTrade Committee, scheduled to take place in Brussels on May 14, 2001. This jointcommittee includes ministerial representatives from all 15 EU member states and has aspecific mandate to oversee preparations for the upcoming negotiations, as well as tosupervise the implementation of the trade provisions of the Cotonou Agreement, inparticular issues of market access.

The ACP Ministerial Trade Committee appointed the Hon. Anthony Hylton, Minister of Foreign Trade of Jamaica, as Chair for a period of six months. The Ministers of Tradefrom Kenya and Samoa will take over the chairmanship in October 2001 and April 2002,respectively.

During the South Africa-ACP consultations, Ministers held an exchange of views on the

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following issues: economic governance, including issues of government procurement ;trade-related issues, including rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary regulations,environment and fisheries ; adding value to key sectors and commodities ; strategicoptions in trade policy ; the experience of ACP countries with regard to the AfricanGrowth and Opportunity Act, the Caribbean Basin Initiative, the Free Trade Areas of the

Americas, and the lessons to draw from the negotiations of the Lome and CotonouAgreements.

NEWS BRIEF

On April 27, the WTO General Council will convene a Special Session onImplementation of Uruguay Round commitments. The Chairman of the General Counciland the Director-General will report on ongoing consultations with WTO Members.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recipients of RNM UPDATE are authorised to forward this newsletter to otheraddresses. We welcome suggestions for additions to our mailing list. If, on the otherhand, you wish to be removed from the list, kindly inform us.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Henry S. GillCommunications Director/ Team Leader CARICOM Trade Project,Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)"Windmark", First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264http://www.caribrnm.net

* * *RNM UPDATE

May 24, 2001


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- ACP-EU MINISTERIAL- WORLD TRADE REPORT- UN THIRD LDC CONFERENCE- BRIEFS- UPCOMING EVENTS

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ACP-EU MINISTERIAL

The ACP-EU Council of Ministers held its 26th meeting in Brussels on May 11. The

agenda included: delegation of powers to the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors, trade,sugar, development finance cooperation, enlargement of the European Union, politicaldialogue and other issues. ACP positions, as well as decisions, on some of these issuesare summarised here.

The Ministers delegated to the Committee of Ambassadors important powers includingthe adoption of the Procedures for the award of contracts financed from the resources of the European Development Fund, General Conditions applicable to contracts financed bythe Fund and procedural rules on the arbitration of disputes over contracts financed by theFund. On this matter, the ACP Group expressed the wish for a more equitable distributionof these contracts between the ACP and the EU sides. The ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors was also allowed to decide the use of unallocated resources from the 8thEuropean Development Fund.

In regard to preparation for the negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements(EPAs), the ACP co-President announced that the ACP Group had designed acomprehensive package of preparatory activities in anticipation of the operationalisationof the EDF 20 million Euro programme earmarked for support and capacity building.However, the Chairman of the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee, Hon. Anthony Hylton,Minister of Foreign Trade of Jamaica, pointed out that the failure of the EuropeanCommission to deliver on the promise of financial support to ACP preparatory activitiesmade this preparation difficult. He said "Unless the Commission can do better onimplementation, we may need to look again at the September 2002 target for the

commencement of the negotiations. That is not a prospect from which we take anycomfort".

On preparation for the Qatar Ministerial, Minister Hylton clarified ACP concerns thatmany issues that contributed to the failure of the Seattle Ministerial Conference,including those related to the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements,Decisions and the inherent imbalances therein, remain unresolved. Despite receivingmany proposals from developing countries for reviewing several WTO rules, it had notbeen possible to reach consensus on these demands. He complained that there had beenvery little progress, if any, in making the WTO rules and procedures more appropriate tothe needs and interests of developing countries. The ACP Group also reiterated thatissues such as labour and environmental standards should not be incorporated into themultilateral trade negotiations at the risk of these being used for protectionist purposeswere great. However, the Group reaffirmed its commitment to implementing labour andenvironmental standards as defined by the relevant international conventions.

The ACP position on Bananas was expressed by the Hon. Julian Hunte, St. Lucia's

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Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Trade. Welcoming the Agreement which theEC reached with the United States and Ecuador, he expressed ACP concerns about theproposed reduction of quota "C" by 100,000 tonnes, for the smaller quota will certainlyprove inadequate, with the inclusion of the non-traditional suppliers. The ACP are alsoconcerned that a period of transition to a single tariff ending as early as 31 December

2005 will leave the ACP too little time to complete the massive restructuring necessary.The ACP urged the EU to provide financial support for ACP suppliers to help them retaintheir competitiveness and provide compensation to those who suffer a loss of earningsdue to the modification of the regime. Finally, they are concerned that they have not beenconsulted in the negotiations resulting in the EU-USA agreements and would expect fullconsultation in formulating the text of the request for the GATT Article XIII waiverwhich the Agreements with US and Ecuador envisage.

The ACP Ministerial Spokesman on Sugar, Hon. Pravind Jugnath, Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology & Natural Resources of Mauritius, pointed to the fact thatthe EU had not yet agreed on the terms and conditions of the future Regime and on theCommission's mandate for the renewal of the Special Preferential Sugar Agreement as amatter of major concern to the ACP. The ACP shared the view of the EuropeanParliament that a six-year regime would provide a stable and predictable framework forthe orderly management of the sugar sector. They requested that in the implementation of the 'Everything but Arms' (EBA) Initiative, the LDC sugar quota be in addition to thecurrent SPS quantities.

Political dialogue, which is enshrined in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, was amajor issue for the ACP Group. The ACP official statement was delivered by Hon. BillieMiller, Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados. She strongly criticised the lack of politicaldialogue and the level of European representation in the joint meetings pointing out thatACP ministers had not been talking with their ministerial counterparts, given that Europewas represented by EC Commissioners. Minister Miller also criticised the exclusion of the ACP from the definition of ACP-EU cooperation programmes and the lack of consultations on the implementation of cooperation. The Minister also pointed out thatthough the EU is dedicated to the concept of "regional partnership agreement", by thesame token, the ACP are dedicated to maintaining the ACP Group. She added that beforeCotonou's ratification by the EU and before the WTO waiver had been obtained, "it didnot sit well with us that the EBA was announced and without reference to us in the ACP",which, she said, would undermine Cotonou. Minister Miller emphasised, "We are glad of the benefits which will accrue to the LDCs but at the same time, we are not disposed topermit the EBA to foment division among the ACP - the LDCs and the non-LDCs... Butat least some impact on Cotonou and the existing commodity protocols ought to havebeen considered from the onset... Amidst all the rhetoric about poverty alleviation andpoverty eradication, it needs to be understood that many of us are the recently poor andsome are still among the ranks of the poor - there is nothing to be gained and everythingto lose by actions which are designed to have the effect of returning the recently poor topoverty...".

Additional information is available through the ACP Secretariat at

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http://www.acpsec.org/gb/press/146b056e.html

WORLD TRADE REPORT

The WTO Secretariat has released its 151-page Annual Report 2001, which includes anoverview of the developments in the international trading environment and a summary of WTO activities. Among the findings of the preliminary review of world tradedevelopments in 2000 are:

--Exports and imports of developing countries expanded by more than 20%, lifting theirshare in world merchandise trade to the highest level in the last 50 years. Various factorscontributed to this outcome, including the economic recovery in Latin America and EastAsia, the sharp rise of oil prices and stronger import demand in developed countries.

--The value of world merchandise trade rose by 12.5% in 2000 - twice the average for thelast decade - to reach nearly 6.2 trillion dollars. World commercial services trade isestimated to have expanded by 5% (to 1.4 trillion dollars) in 2000, the fastest annualgrowth since 1997. For the second year in a row, the value of commercial services tradeexpanded less rapidly than merchandise trade, but for the 1990-2000 period its 6% annualgrowth matched that of merchandise trade.

--The year 2000 witnessed not only outstandingly high global trade and output growth of 12% and 4%, respectively, but also an exceptionally large excess of trade growth overoutput growth.

--In 2001, the world economy is retreating from the high growth path seen last year,dimming the prospects for world trade in 2001. The volume of world merchandise tradeis expected to grow by 7%, a marked reduction from the estimated 12% in 2000.

The complete report is available athttp://www.wto.org/english/res_e/anrep_e/wto_anrep01_e.pdf

UN THIRD LDC CONFERENCE

The Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) washeld in Brussels from 14-20 May, 2001. The Declaration issued by participatinggovernments recognised that the goals of the Second UN Conference had not been met,that LDCs continued to be marginalised in the world economy and that they continue tosuffer extreme poverty. LDCs are 49 in number with a total population surpassing 600million.

Participating governments adopted a Programme of Action for the LDCs for the decade2001-2010 covering a wide range of subjects, including trade, foreign direct investment(FDI), official development assistance (ODA) and external debt, aimed at the eradication

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of poverty and the improvement of the quality of lives of people in LDCs. This is to beachieved through strengthening the LDCs' abilities to build a better future for themselvesand develop their countries. It was recognised that the primary responsibility fordevelopment in LDCs rested with LDCs themselves, but that their efforts needed to begiven concrete and substantial international support from Governments and international

organisations in a spirit of shared responsibility through genuine partnerships, includingwith the civil society and private sector.

With respect to trade, governments expressed the belief that increased trade was essentialfor the growth and development of LDCs; that a transparent, non-discriminatory andrules-based multilateral trading system was essential for LDCs to reap the potentialbenefits of globalisation; that the accession of LDCs to the WTO should be encouragedand facilitated. Governments committed themselves to seizing the opportunity of thefourth WTO Ministerial meeting in Doha in November 2001, to advance the developmentdimension of trade, in particular for the development of LDCs. They stated their aim toimprove preferential market access for LDCs by working towards the objective of duty-free and quota-free market access for all LDCs´ products in the markets of developedcountries, as well as to take measures to address problems caused by supply-sideconstraints. They emphasised that the crucial importance of trade and economic growthmust be reflected in poverty reduction strategies.

Regarding official development assistance (ODA), governments pledged not to spare anyeffort to reverse the declining trends of ODA and to meet, expeditiously, the targets of 0.15% or 0.20% of GDP as ODA to LDCs. On external debt they pledged to makeexpeditious progress towards full cancellation of outstanding official bilateral debt withinthe context of the enhanced HIPC Initiative (Debt Initiative for Heavily Indebted PoorCountries), as well as to provide debt relief to post conflict countries within the flexibilityprovided under the HIPC framework. The full Declaration can be obtained athttp://www.un.org/events/ldc3/conference/declaration.htmBRIEFS

ACS Meeting

The RNM participated in the Second Meeting on Inter-Secretariat Co-operation in theGreater Caribbean, which was convened at the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) in Port-of-Spain, on May 17-18, 2001. The meeting was attendedby the Secretaries General of CARICOM, SIECA (Central American EconomicIntegration Secretariat), and SICA (Central American Integration System), as well as thePermanent Secretary of the Latin American Economic System (SELA). The OECSSecretariat, Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and Caribbean Export alsoparticipated. The meeting provided a useful opportunity to review trade, tourism,information systems and other developments, as well as the functioning of workprograms of the participating entities, including studies and training programmes beingundertaken.

EU-Candidate Ministerial

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The European Union and Candidate Countries held a Ministerial Conference at Ljubljanaon 11-12 May 2001 on WTO and Trade Issues. The Ministers agreed on the importanceof launching, at the Fourth WTO Ministerial meeting in Qatar in November 2001, a newcomprehensive round of multilateral trade negotiations and agreed to continue to work

together towards this shared objective.

UPCOMING EVENTS

--The WTO will hold its Trade Policy Review of OECS countries on 5-7 June. Suchreviews are mandated by the Uruguay Round agreement and are intended to facilitate thesmooth functioning of the international trading system by enhancing the transparency of Members' trade policies. Reviews have been carried out of only two CARICOMMembers - Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

--The Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC) will hold its ThirteenthAnnual Private Sector Conference 2001 in Kingston, Jamaica, on June 25th. The themeof the Conference is "Locating the Caribbean's Competitive Advantages: Preparing theRegional Private Sector for Globalisation".

--The WTO will be the venue on 6-7 July 2001 for a symposium on critical issuesconfronting the world trading system. Representatives from governments, non-governmental organisations, the media and members of the academic community areinvited to participate. Work sessions deal with: (first day) Agriculture, TRIPS - Access toEssential Medicines, Trade and Environment, Services, WTO & Civil Society; and(second day) Food Safety and the SPS Agreement, TRIPS - Bio-technology/ Bio-diversity, Trade and Development, Services, and WTO & Civil Society.


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RNM UPDATE

June 19, 2001


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- EUROPE'S NEW GSP REGULATIONS- CHINA-USA AGREEMENT ON WTO ACCESSION- ACTIVE USA TRADE AGENDA- IDB SUPPORT TO THE RNM- BRIEFS

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EUROPE'S NEW GSP REGULATIONS

The European Commission adopted on June 12 a proposal to revise the GeneralisedSystem of Tariff Preferences (GSP) for the years 2002 to 2004, the implications of whichneed to be examined carefully by Caribbean countries and the ACP as a whole, since thiscould lead to increased competition in European markets for certain ACP exports.

The GSP is an initiative deriving from discussions in the 1960s whereby industrialisedcountries granted non-reciprocal trade preferences to all developing countries, withcurrent eligibility extended to 142 countries. The EU was the first to implement its ownGSP in 1971, and for 90 developing countries and economies in transition, notably inAsia, the GSP provides the only preferential access to the EU's market. Yet access underthe GSP is less beneficial than certain other non-reciprocal preferences (for example,Lomé Covention/Cotonou, CBI/now CBTPA and CARIBCAN), mainly because itsproduct coverage is narrower, product eligibility can be modified, preference margins aresmaller, market access is not necessarily on a duty-free basis (although the U.S. GSP isduty-fee) and individual countries are subject to "graduation" for particular productswhen they achieve specific market penetration levels. Under the European GSP, rules of

origin are also less favourable than under Lomé/Cotonou. On the other hand, the GSP isWTO-compatible under the Enabling Clause (adopted for an indefinite period) whereasthe above-mentioned arrangements require a WTO waiver.

The existing EU Regulation entered into force on 1 July 1999 and covers the period untilthe end of 2001. It is the first one to cover all products and all arrangements (suchagricultural, industrial, textiles GSP and so on). The EU's GSP is implemented over a ten-year cycle, with the present cycle spanning 1995-2004. The proposed regulation is

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members are permitted to exempt support that falls below a certain minimum amount,i.e.,"de minimis" exemption, which, is normally for developing countries 10% of thevalue of agricultural production. Because China's current level of support is less than 2%it has agreed to bind its AMS at zero and a de minimis exemption of 8.5%. It has alsoagreed to forgo recourse to a separate exemption under Article 6.2 of the AoA, which

permits developing countries an unlimited exemption for support for programs intendedto encourage agricultural and rural development for resource-poor farmers, in particularinvestment subsidies programs, input subsidies programs, and programs fordiversification from narcotic crops. China also foregoes all export subsidies.

With respect to Services, market access commitments in distribution and insuranceservices under the 1999 agreement were clarified. Similarly trading rights (the right toimport and export goods) were clarified in respect of both "foreign-invested companies"located in China and foreign companies that export goods to China without forming acompany in China. For the former, China will phase-in trading rights over a three-yearperiod. In the case of the latter, the agreed text limits the types of requirements that Chinacan impose as a condition for obtaining trading rights and provides that trading rights willbe granted in a non-discriminatory and non-discretionary way. Further information isavailable at http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2001/06/01-38.pdf

ACTIVE US TRADE AGENDA

On June 13, Republican U.S. Congressman Phil Crane, Chairman of the House Ways andMeans Subcommittee on Trade, introduced a bill known as The Trade PromotionAuthority Act of 2001 that would give the Executive Branch the authority it needs fromCongress to negotiate key trade agreements, as set forth in the President George W.Bush's '2001 International Trade Legislative Agenda'. Enactment of the TPA is at the topof the President's Agenda, which aims to pursue (a) a new round of global tradenegotiations under the auspices of the WTO; (b) A Free Trade Area of the Americasagreement; and (c) other regional and bilateral trade negotiations.

The latter includes concluding free trade agreements with Chile and Singapore,implementation of the U.S.-Jordan FTA, the Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and theLaos Bilateral Trade Agreement; renewal of the Andean Trade Preference Act; re-authorization of the General System of Preferences Program; and enactment of theSoutheast Europe Trade Preference Act. The latter aims inter alia to "promote stabilityand economic development in Southeast Europe through increased access to the U.S.market and the facilitation of regional investment and to encourage a broader opening of markets in Europe and elsewhere to goods from within the region". It aims as well tosupport the promotion of core labor standards by adopting criteria that conform to thosein existing preferential trade programs and to encourage governments in the region toeliminate trade in persons.

The Agenda contains also a Labor and Environment "Toolbox" of actions that could betaken in combination with trade negotiations in order to promote the protection of

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already making limited inroads into the US market even though its products are subject toduty. Rum was initially excluded from ATPA in recognition of its importance toCaribbean economies, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Since Colombiais already a large producer of sugar cane based beverages with announced plans forfurther expansion, the West Indies Rum and Sugar Producers Association (WIRSPA),

along with Caribbean ambassadors in Washington, has been active in making theCaribbean case to protect their access benefits gained under the CBI, prior to whichCaribbean rum exports were subject to duties two to three times higher than Scotchwhisky and other imported spirits. This was done primarily to protect the US domesticrum industry.

Another concern derives from the fact that the Philippines has signalled its intention toask for duty-free treatment for its rum under the US GSP. This is potentially the biggestthreat for, apart from the fact that the Philippines is a huge producer, if such a requestwere granted, the USA would have to extend GSP treatment to the about 120 othercountries (not counting CBI countries). The Philippines has on two previous occasionssought GSP treatment for rum in the U.S. market but this was denied on both occasions.The Philippines has until the end of June to submit its application.

Intellectual Property Initiative for LDCs

Haiti will benefit from a new initiative launched jointly by the World IntellectualProperty Organization (WIPO) and the WTO, on 14 June 2001, to help least-developedcountries (LDCs) maximise the benefits of intellectual property protection. Least-developed countries have until 1 January 2006 to comply with the WTO Agreement onTrade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), six years laterthan other developing countries. LDCs have to bring their laws on copyright, patents,trademarks and other areas of intellectual property into line with the TRIPS Agreement.They also have to provide ways of enforcing the laws effectively, in order to deal withpiracy, counterfeiting and other forms of IP infringement.

Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of WIPO, stressed that to give these countries nationalownership of intellectual property protection was crucial in assisting them and heemphasized that intellectual property was a tool for technological advancement,economic growth and wealth creation for all nations, especially for LDCs. The initiativeoffers varied forms of technical assistance, including co-operation with preparinglegislation, training, institution-building, modernising intellectual property systems andenforcement. Of the 49 countries defined by the UN as LDCs, 30 are members of theWTO (another six are negotiating WTO membership) and 41 are members of WIPO.

Chile-U.S. Free Trade Negotiations

These bilateral negotiations offer some insight into the duration and scope of bilateraltrade negotiations nowadays. The negotiations were launched in December 2000 and thefifth round of talks has just been concluded (June 15). The parties have agreed to meetagain from July 23-27 to be followed by monthly meetings from September to the end of

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the year. Seventeen negotiating groups have been established, as well as a negotiatinggroup "to discuss the larger institutional issues which will define the agreement". Theparties aim to conclude a state of the art free trade agreement, setting high standards forsuch agreements in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world.


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Henry S. Gill,Communications Director,Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)"Windmark", First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264http://www.caribrnm.net

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RNM UPDATE

June 12, 2001


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- RNM-RELATED REGIONAL MEETINGS UNDERWAY- RNM CONSULTATION CONCLUDED- RNM DONOR SUPPORT- OECS TRADE POLICY REVIEW COMPLETED- DOHA MINISTERIAL- UPCOMING EVENTS

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RNM-RELATED REGIONAL MEETINGS UNDERWAY

A series of very important meetings on the subjects of CARICOM's external economic

relations and the RNM are taking place this week in Kingston, Jamaica, culminating withthe Fifteenth Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiationson 15-16 June.

The week began with a meeting of officials comprising the Review Group on theStrategic Plan for the RNM, which continued discussions started last month in Guyana onan RNM organisational review, networking and co-ordinating in terms of externalnegotiating structures and in relation to the bodies of the Community, as well aspayments and budgetary matters.

Starting today Ministers attending a two-day Special Meeting of CARICOM's Councilfor Trade and Economic Development (COTED) will deliberate on the Region's externalagenda, which covers Hemispheric Issues, including a plan for preparation of theRegion's position on Smaller Economies in October 2001; ACP-EU Relations, in respectof preparations for negotiations on New Trading Arrangements (2002); WTO Matters;and Bilateral Relations, in respect of Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republicand Venezuela.

The conclusions and recommendations of these meetings will be considered by the PrimeMinisterial Sub-Committee, which is expected to submit its proposals for the Region'sposition on the various external issues discussed and for the future of the RNM to the fullmeeting of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, which will take place inNassau, The Bahamas, on 3-6 July.

RNM CONSULTATION CONCLUDED

The RNM held a two-day Consultation on Technical Studies, in Barbados on June 8-9,2001, with the participation of government officials and regional organisations (theCaribbean Community Secretariat, OECS Secretariat and IICA), in addition torepresentatives from private sector and producer bodies, including the Sugar Associationof the Caribbean, the Caribbean Poultry Association, Caribbean Export, and the BarbadosAgricultural Society. The Consultation addressed issues arising from the followingstudies:-"CARICOM Agriculture and the FTAA: Priorities and Interests," by Prof. TimothyTaylor of the University of Florida;-two studies on the implications for the Caribbean of the European Union's 'EverythingBut Arms' Initiative, one of which dealt specifically with the sugar and rice industries, byDr. Christopher Stephens of Sussex University; as well as-a study on "Implications of European Enlargement for CARICOM Countries", jointlypresented by Professors David Greenaway and Prof. Chris Milner of Nottingham

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University.

The Consultation also brought together agriculture officials from the Region to consideran RNM draft negotiating proposal for the the WTO negotiations on Agriculture, inrespect of Domestic Support and Export Competition. Discussions resulted in a

consensus document, which will be submitted for the consideration of COTED and foreventual endorsement of the Conference of Heads of Government. CARICOM previouslyapproved a proposal on Agriculture in respect of Market Access, which was presented atthe Fifth Special Session (February 5-7, 2001) of the WTO Committee on Agriculture.

RNM DONOR SUPPORT

First Phase of DFID Support Completed

The two-year CARICOM Trade Project (CTP), financed by the UK Department forInternational Development (DFID) in support of RNM capacity-building, concluded onMay 31. The CTP, which was project managed by the UK-based Emerging MarketEconomics (eme) Ltd., has blazed the trail for external donors, not merely by the range of activities enabled, but also through the originality of certain components.

The Project has enabled the formulation of the RNM's Communications PartnershipStrategy (CPS), an innovation aimed at involving its stakeholders in government, theprivate sector and civil society at large, in a two-way communications interaction withthe RNM. CPS objectives have been to inform, educate and sensitise stakeholders aboutthe international trade policy and negotiations environment, attendant challenges andopportunities for the Caribbean Region, as well as the RNM's mission and functioning,with the ultimate objective of eliciting stakeholder feedback. This is accomplishedthrough inter alia lectures, addresses, papers and other presentations at workshops,seminars, symposiums and conferences; through briefing sessions, both routine and adhoc; informal discussions; through the use of the RNM website and computer-generatedinformation exchange and dissemination, including the RNM UPDATE series.

Another innovation has been the Professional Trainees Programme, a fellowship schemewhich enables candidates selected on merit to undergo a ten-month apprenticeship inorder to deepen knowledge of trade negotiation subjects and develop negotiation skills,thereby cultivating a younger generation of Caribbean trade negotiators. Trainees areassigned to an RNM or affiliate office where they undertake supervised research, attendtrade policy/negotiation courses in different locations, participate in actual internationaltrade negotiations and undergo an attachment at some other international institutionactively involved in trade negotiations. Under the CTP six Trainees have completed thisprogramme and two are undergoing training. The programme is considered to be highlysuccessful, arousing interest from potential trainees and the donor community.

Support for technical studies has been a critically important element of the CTP, asindeed of other RNM projects funded by the CDB, IDB and CIDA. Ten major studies

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have been undertaken under this facility. The CTP has in addition included acomplementary facility whereby "call-down" experts can be mobilised at short notice fora variety of purposes, including Reflection Group Meetings, seminars and workshops;drafting text of the Region's proposals on certain negotiating subjects; short studies,technical papers, and peer reviews of larger technical studies; as well as expert attendance

at negotiations and other activities. In addition the CTP included a small informationtechnology-related component.

With completion of the CTP, DFID has pledged to continue its support to the RNM overthe long term, using as a basis the RNM's Strategic Plan being developed. It has decidedto provide support directly as an indication of confidence and in order to forge a closerrelationship, starting immediately with a six-month interim program. During this periodDFID aims to support increased emphasis on communications activities and continuanceof the trainee programme, as well as to support the inclusion of two technical staff members and provide assistance for strengthening the RNM's financial managementsystem.

Canada-supported trainee activity underway

Four RNM Professional Trainees funded under the RNM/CIDA Trade Support Project,which is being implemented since January 2, commenced their fellowships in June. Thetrainees were chosen in April from over 220 applicants by a selection committee chairedby Prof. Kenneth Hall, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Mona campus of the University of theWest Indies, and comprising UWI and RNM personnel.

Together with two trainees funded under the RNM/DFID program, the CIDA-supportedtrainees will participate in the Advanced Training Course on "Multilateral and RegionalTrade Issues For The Americas", which will take place at Georgetown University inWashington D.C., from June 18-29. The course is being sponsored by the OAS and theWTO.

OECS TRADE POLICY REVIEW COMPLETED

In what is regarded as an important exercise in transparency, on the 5th and 7th of June2001 the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO conducted the first review of the fullrange of trade policies and practices of the six OECS-WTO Members (Antigua andBarbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and StVincent and the Grenadines). All six Members were represented at Ministerial level:Hon. Hilroy Humphreys; Hon. Osborne Riviere; Hon. Elvin Nimrod; Hon. Sam Condor;Hon. Julian R. Hunte; and Hon. Conrad Sayers. Delegations also included PermanentSecretaries and other senior officials. The OECS Secretariat was also represented. Dr.Kathy-Ann Brown of the RNM and Dr. Grynberg of the Commonwealth Secretariatserved as Technical Advisors.

The review was based on two documents: the WTO Secretariat report (WT/TPR/S/85

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Jamaica's ambassador has argued further that while there is a requirement that WTOMinisters meet every two years, there is no requirement for a Round to be launched.Moreover, the occasion would be timely to have a full review and assessment of theWTO's ongoing work of the Organization, including and especially on the impact of theAgreements already entered into. There is presently quite a full agenda in the WTO.

There are already negotiations on Services and Agriculture; there are mandated reviews,monitoring of existing Agreements, and there is the critical need to strengthen technicalassistance and give support to capacity building.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The schedule of FTAA meetings for the next four weeks covers the following subjects:Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (June 11-13); Technical Committee OnInstitutional Matters (14-15); Government Procurement (18-19); Services (19-22);Investment (25-27); Intellectual Property (27-28); Civil Society (28-29); Market Access(July 2-6); Subsidies, Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (9-11); and CompetitionPolicy (11-13).


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RNM UPDATE

June 29, 2001


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Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Guyana, and St Kitts & Nevis will be taken up inSeptember 2001.

CARICOM-CUBA TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT

Trade and economic relations between CARICOM and the Republic of Cuba receivedanother boost with the recent signing of two Protocols amending the Trade and EconomicCo-operation Agreement between them, signed almost one year ago on July 5, 2000, atCanouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The two Protocols, signed in Kingston last week on the fringes of the 15th Meeting of thePrime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Relations, made amendments to theProduct Lists contained in Annexes I to V of the Agreement, and introduced two newAgreements on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments and on theProtection of Intellectual Property Rights.

CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington signed on behalf of the Community.The Hon. Ricardo Cabrisas, Senior Government Minister signed on behalf of theGovernment of the Republic of Cuba. Sir Shiridath Ramphal, Chief Negotiator of theCaribbean Regional Negotiation Machinery was also present, as well as several Ministersof the CARICOM countries.

The Protocols require both Parties to notify each other when their internal legalprocedures have been completed, in order to facilitate entry into force of the Agreementon or before 1 July 2001. It is envisaged that the Joint Commission established under theAgreement will convene its first meeting very soon after entry into force, to deal with anumber of outstanding issues for both Parties.

Among other things, the first meeting of the Joint Commission is expected to approve therevised Product Lists, which shall have legal effect as the list of products in Article V of the Agreement. That meeting is also expected to consider the treatment of Salt under theAgreement, as well as deal with the concerns raised by Jamaica and Barbados in relationto the Investment Agreement and the peak periods for certain agricultural products,respectively.

FTAA DISCUSSIONS

The Present Phase

The second tranche of FTAA negotiations began on May 7, 2001 with the meeting of theGroup on Services. FTAA meetings have been taking place in Panama where theSecretariat is currently based. All nine (9) Negotiating Groups along with the four (4)Special Committees have held first meetings and are deciding on work programs for thistranche. The Groups will base their work plans on the instructions received from the

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Ministerial Meeting, held in Buenos Aires, in early April 2001. The MinisterialDeclaration of April 7 was summarised in RNM UPDATE April 12, 2001 and isavailable atHTTP://www.ftaa-alca.org/ministerials/BAmin_e.asp

Delegations will aim, in this new tranche, to eliminate as many brackets as possible fromthe draft text, in order to reach agreement and move one step closer toward the proposeddeadline of January 2005 for the completion of the FTAA agreement. Square bracketsenclose the areas of disagreement and a significant portion of the text submitted bydelegations still remains in brackets, signifying a lack of consensus on a wide number of issues. Plans are currently underway to make the draft texts available on the FTAAwebsite for public access and RNM UPDATE readers will be informed as soon as thiscomes to pass.

New Committee Meets

The First Meeting of the Technical Committee on Institutional Issues (TCI) was held inPanama on June 14, 2001. The TCI is the fourth special committee established within theFTAA process, along with the Consultative Group on Smaller Economies, the JointGovernment-Private Sector Committee on Electronic Commerce and the Committee of Government Representatives on Civil Society.

The TCI discussed the drafting of a Work Program, to be submitted for the considerationof the Vice-Ministerial Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) before its meeting inManagua, Nicaragua, on September 26-28, 2001; the number of meetings the Committeewould hold; and the possibility that delegations might add, at any time other, topicsand/or agenda items in respect of the overall architecture of the agreement. For the nextmeeting scheduled for August 2-3, the Committee will undertake a general debate on the

overall architecture of the FTAA agreement, examining, as appropriate, the experiencesof bilateral and subregional agreements in the Hemisphere.

The Committee agreed that delegations who wish to do so may submit by July 12, 2001written contributions to stimulate the debate regarding general provisions, otherprocedural or substantive issues and the relationship between the TCI and other FTAAentities.

FATF MONEY LAUNDERING REPORT

The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering published its twelfth annualreport on 22 June, 2001, outlining its main achievements in 2000-2001, including thesignificant progress in work on non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCTs). TheFATF has decided to remove the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein andPanama from the list, but will monitor closely future developments in those countries.The updated list of 17 NCCTs includes three Caribbean countries: Dominica, St. Kitts

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and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The FATF will review the situation of each country on the list as a matter of priority at each Plenary meeting. The Reportindicates that co-operation with the international organisations concerned with combatingmoney laundering was marked by reinforced collaboration between the FATF and theInternational Financial Institutions, namely the IMF and the World Bank, which

generally recognised the Forty Recommendations of the FATF as the international anti-money laundering standards.

The FATF is an independent international body comprising twenty nine membercountries and governments. Two international bodies are also members of the FATF: theEuropean Commission and the Gulf Co-operation Council. Its Secretariat is housed at theOECD. The FATF calls on its members to request their financial institutions to givespecial attention to businesses and transactions with persons, including companies andfinancial institutions, in these countries or territories. The report can be obtained athttp://www.oecd.org/fatf/pdf/PR-20010622_en.pdf

BRIEFS

Intra-CARICOM Movement of Skills

On June 26, the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament passed the Immigration (CaribbeanCommunity Skilled Nationals) Act 1996. The bill had initially been presented in 1996 butit required amendments since its previous format presaged immigration problems. Thepassing of this piece of legislation provides impetus to the implementation of the goal of implementing the free movement of university graduates within the CaribbeanCommunity.

India urges Developing Countries

India said on June 19 that it would oppose any move to link labour and environmentalissues with trade at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar,from November 9 to 13 and urged developing nations to develop a common stand.Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran said in a letter to the Group of 77 thatattempts were often made to link labour conditions to trade as "an excuse to distortcompetition, undermine comparative advantage and provide Trojan horses of protectionism". As to the launching of a new Round of multilateral trade negotiations,Maran said that WTO work should concentrate on the full implementation of theUruguay Round results.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Twenty-Second meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of theCaribbean Community will take place in Nassau, The Bahamas, on 3-6 July 2001. Thewide-ranging agenda of the Conference includes the Report from the Prime MinisterialSub-Committee on External Economic Relations, which addresses the various trade

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negotiations in which the Region is involved and matters relating to the structure andfunctioning of the RNM, as well as to its budget. Among other items on the agenda of theConference are the Report from the Eighth Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers; progress reports on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and theEstablishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice; Regional Security Issues; Preparations

for Upcoming Summits; Developments in Haiti; Border Issues; and HIV/AIDS.The First ACP Civil Society Forum will take place In Brussels on 4-5 July. This conclavewill be followed on 6-7 July by the First ACP-EU Civil Society Forum, which will takeplace at the Egmont Palace, on the Participation of Civil Society in the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement. About 140 representatives of civil society organisations fromthe ACP and 20 representatives of EU civil society organisations, along with governmentrepresentatives, are expected to participate in the conference.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recipients of RNM UPDATE are authorised to forward this newsletter to otheraddresses. We welcome suggestions for additions to our mailing list. If, on the otherhand, you wish to be removed from the list, kindly inform us.

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Henry S. Gill,Communications Director,Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)"Windmark", First Avenue, Harts Gap,Hastings, Christ Church, BarbadosTel: (246) 430-1673Fax: (246) 228-5264http://www.caribrnm.net

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RNM Update - 2001-04-03

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