This is part four of a ten-part series by David Jessop, explaining the provisions of the Economic Partnership Agreement, which the Cariforum countries will sign with the European Union in June. David Jessop is the Executive Director of the Caribbean Council for Europe.

Among the most difficult issues to resolve in the final months of the negotiations with Europe for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was how much of its trade the Caribbean could exclude from the removal of tariffs.

At the heart of a debate was some arcane but internationally accepted language that suggested that any new trade agreement must cover ‘substantially all trade’ if it were to meet the requirements of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) members. Although this expression is generally taken to mean that twenty per cent or less can be excluded, there are many exceptions……