Caricom heads of government agreed at the 12th Special Meeting of Caricom yesterday that the Common External Tariff (CET) on a basket of goods would be reviewed and that member states should continue to implement national measures with a view to containing prices.
During a press conference last night at the close of the meeting at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell read the decisions taken by the heads of government.
Mitchell said it had been agreed that immediate action be taken in respect of a review of the CET to address the rising cost of living.
It was mandated that the consumption basket of goods be reviewed to select those items which were common to the baskets in all member states and which attracted a CET. To this end a technical team would immediately be established and their recommendations would be taken to COTED on January 21-26, 2008.
It was also agreed, he said, for an expert Caricom Team on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) to be immediately established for a rapid assessment of the readiness of selected member states to export selected food items and the ability of member states to import those items.
Mitchell noted as well that member states would continue to implement national measures with a view to containing prices and said that there would be an intensification of social measures to target women and children.
In relation to food production, Guyana’s commitment to give access to land was appreciated, with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) noted as pursuing agricultural initiatives.
The prime minister revealed that it had been recommended that efforts should be made to increase the regional content of food consumption and spoke of the importance of branding and marketing Caribbean products.
The importance of the Agriculture Investment Forum scheduled for the first quarter of 2008, was noted for meeting the objectives of increased production in the region, while it was urged again that the Jagdeo Initiative, named after President Bharrat Jagdeo, be used to transform agriculture.
Factors identified as increasing the cost of living were the unprecedented high oil prices; the declining US dollar to which a lot of the member states are pegged; increased consumption in India and China as a result of the growing middle classes there; climate change, which has disrupted food supplies from the main producing nations; a shift in agricultural production from food to bio-fuels and the increased freight costs as a consequence of higher oil prices.
Also urged was a public education campaign to ‘shop smart and buy regional’ and for further analysis and research on the rising cost of living.
In respect of energy it was urged that work being undertaken in the region in the area of renewable energy be intensified.
