Summit's poor cousins: Needs of Caribbean nations in danger of being overlooked in trade talks Final Edition

• Published in: The Gazette (Montreal)
• Main Author: Weston, Ann
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Montreal, Que Postmedia Network Inc 18.04.2001
• ISSN: 0384-1294

Most Caribbean countries are heavily dependent on trade of primary commodities such as bananas and bauxite, tourism and manufactured products such as clothing and processed foods. For these countries, the special arrangements negotiated with the European Union since the mid-1970s (under the Lome and then Cotonou Conventions), the U.S. from 1983 (under the Caribbean Basin Initiative) and Canada since 1986 (under CARIBCAN) were considered important lifelines, helping to support traditional exports, while stimulating new export-oriented production. In January, Prime Minister Jean Chretien met with the Commonwealth Caribbean leaders in Jamaica and all agreed to begin talks about a framework for a free-trade agreement. On average, Caribbean countries face quite low tariffs in Canada. But, for some sensitive items like clothing, Canada still levies a duty of 20 per cent on imports from the Caribbean and countries like Jamaica still face quotas. In comparison, Mexican clothing exports to Canada are quota-free, enjoy declining tariffs and will be tariff-free starting in 2003. This helps to explain why our clothing imports from Jamaica fell 60 per cent from 1996 to 2000 while from Mexico these imports have more than tripled. Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency, has already supported the promotion of new Caribbean products in the Canadian market. Other Canadian trade-related technical assistance is helping Caribbean countries to meet their WTO commitments - for instance in the use of anti-dumping and countervailing duties. CIDA has also provided a grant of $3.6 million to the Regional Negotiating Machinery, created in 1997 to encourage and enhance the Caribbean countries' capacity to negotiate as a group in the course of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade talks.