The review of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) trade in services and investment legislation for implementation of EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) obligations is nearing completion, according to release from the CARICOM Secretariat at Turkeyen.
In collaboration with the EPA Implementation Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat and the OECS Secretariat, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) contracted a consultant to work with the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines in the implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA.
The objectives were to identify for each OECS member state, pieces of legislation related to Trade in Services and Investment that need to be brought into conformity with the Agreement, including suggested legislative changes and drafting instructions, and also to identify and design possible projects for ensuring conformity of the OECS countries’ legislation with the CARIFORUM-EU EPA, the release explained.
And currently under review is a draft final report identifying, for each OECS member state, legislation related to Trade in Services and Investment that needs to be brought into conformity with the CARIFORUM-EU EPA, as well as the design of possible projects to fill the gaps indentified in the report mentioned earlier.
Meanwhile, Trade in Services and Investment Specialist in the EPA Implementation Unit in the Secretariat, S.H. Allyson Francis, disclosed that the consultant’s findings indicated “there will be a need for legislative changes, as regards allowing EU nationals to enter these states to provide services and in the granting of national treatment.”
She underscored that “there is also a need for policy and legislative development in areas where legislation is not in place, such as professional services and e-commerce.”
Francis identified as the next step the convening of a meeting for the OECS sub-regional grouping to further examine the findings of the consultancy.
This is set for next month and will be organized by the EPA Implementation Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat, the OECS Secretariat and the GS/OAS. Trade and legal officials from those states are expected to attend.
A similar consultancy was launched earlier this year, and is geared at another subset of CARIFORUM states.
Its main components will be an in-depth assessment of the regulatory framework for trade and investment in services in five Caribbean economies – Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago – vis-à-vis obligations on trade and investment in services featured in international free trade agreements.
The specific objective is to enhance the implementation and negotiation capacity of Caribbean countries and regional bodies, through the development of knowledge on the regulatory framework in key services sectors and their actual and potential conflict with disciplines in trade agreements.
In particular, the release noted, the consultancy seeks to produce an in-depth analytical work on the current regulatory framework of trade in services in the Caribbean, in light of the challenges posed by the implementation of CARIFORUM-EU EPA commitments.
The priority issues in this regard include the assessment of horizontal regulation that affects all modes of services supply, including foreign investment, as well as the focus on key services sectors for the Caribbean, such as transport and logistics services, professional services, ICT and related services, and tourism services.
The fifteen signatory Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (CARIFORUM) states to the EPA are the independent CARICOM member states and the Dominican Republic.
