A two-day technical workshop on Market Access and Trade in Services/Investment that sought to demystify certain provisions of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) wrapped in Saint Lucia last Friday.
The workshop drew primarily on the expertise of staff from the CARICOM Secretariat EPA Implementation Unit, according to the CARICOM Secretariat.
Provisional application of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA became effective in December 2008, two months after the signing of the agreement. The Unit was subsequently set up to coordinate the timely implementation of the agreement and it has also been tasked with providing in-country, hands-on assistance.
David Jordan, Director of International Trade and Investment in the Ministry for External Affairs, International Trade and Investment, Saint Lucia, declared the workshop a “resounding success” and in delivering the keynote address he said it represented an important capacity building exercise. He also noted that the workshop held the promise of “improving the skills of our officials….helping [them] to demystify [certain] provisions of the EPA.”
Head of the EPA Unit Branford Isaacs, who is also its Trade in Goods Specialist, and the Unit’s Trade in Services and Investment Specialist Allyson Francis, led the core sessions of the workshop.
The workshop was organised around plenary-styled and breakout sessions and aimed at deepening participants’ understanding of certain provisions of the EPA between CARIFORUM States and the European Union (EU).
A broad spectrum of Saint Lucian public sector officials and business support organisation representatives were invited, CARICOM noted. Some participants attended the Market Access in Goods Group and others the Trade in Services and Investment Group. Isaacs facilitated the former group and Francis the latter.
In the Market Access Group, there was in-depth analysis of issues pertaining to the provisions on the liberalisation of the customs tariff under the EPA, as well as a detailed examination of the Rules of Origin which will govern bilateral CARIFORUM-EU trade.
In the Trade in Services and Investment Group, there was a similarly intensive and lively discussion on issues related to the provisions on Commercial Presence, Consumption Abroad, Cross Border Trade and the Temporary Movement of Natural Persons.
There was a subsequent session that focused specifically on the sectors identified in the schedule of commitments undertaken by the EU and CARIFORUM States. In addition, there was a session that sought to highlight those instances where Saint Lucia had specific commitments. A session then addressed the technical assistance needs of the Services Sectors identified in the course of discussions, such as Cultural Services and Management Consultants, CARICOM added.
