Published: Wednesday October 15, 2008
Minister of Trade and Industry Lenny Saith is in Barbados to sign the much debated Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
He is joining colleagues from 15 Caricom countries and the Dominican Republic (Cariforum). Britain's Minister of State for Trade and Development, Gareth Thomas, will also attend the signing between the European Union (EU) and Cariforum states.
The EPA was initialled last December and has been in the making since 2004.
In a release sent on behalf of the Ministry of Trade, Saith said, "The specific benefits for Trinidad and Tobago as a More Developed Country (MDC) within Cariforum are numerous and far-reaching."
In response to the debates which led up to the EPA signing, Saith said while change is not always welcome or easy, his Government prefers to regard it as an opportunity to be seized. "We are looking forward to the implementation of the EPA as it will give us a degree of access to Europe that we've never benefited from before."
The EPA will give Cariforum states free access to the member states of the EU for their goods exports, (with the exception of rice and sugar) in return for opening their own markets to the EU. Parts of the agreement will be phased in through transition periods between ten and 25 years. The agreement covers trade in goods, services and investments, and provides for development assistance to Cariforum countries.
Representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry coordinated Trinidad and Tobago's participation in the EPA negotiations as part of Cariforum. Members of the local private sector also participated in developing the negotiating positions.
Source: Trinidad Express Newspapers
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business?id=161387801
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