CHILE RALLIES BEHIND PORT-OF-SPAIN, FRONT-RUNNER IN SECRETARIAT RACE
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS - Port-of-Spain has formally secured the backing of Chile, in connection with CARICOMās bid for the Permanent Secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Chile is the latest country to signal its endorsement of Port-of-Spain.Ā Recently, Port-of-Spain received the backing of Peru.
CARICOM
A Special Session of the āCARICOM Working Group on Services
Negotiationsā was convened in Barbados, November 16 to 18.
Mr. Ramesh Chaitoo, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery
(RNM) Services Trade Specialist, characterized the Special Session as an
āimportant opportunity to assess the status of the regionās preparations
for World Trade Organization (WTO) services offers, and discuss crucial
next steps in this process.ā
The Special Session considered draft initial services offers, with a view to
submitting all outstanding offers from CARICOM Member States to the
WTO by February 2005.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS ā A joint WTO/IDB-INTAL 'Regional Workshop on Government Procurement for Caribbean Countries' was held in Trinidad and Tobago, October 18 to 20. The workshop was opened by Hon. Conrad Enhill, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. Mr. William Robinson, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Representative in Trinidad & Tobago and Mr. Kodjo Osei-Lah of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat also addressed the opening ceremony.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS ā The WTO General Council last week approved a Framework which sets out the parameters for continued DDA negotiations. WTO Members negotiated intensively for two weeks prior to culminating in a marathon session which began at 5pm on Friday July 30, and ended almost 24 hours later on Saturday afternoon.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS ā A āCARICOM Meeting on Smaller Economies Issues in the FTAA & Preparatory Meeting for the CARICOM Sub-regional Round Tableā was held in Barbados, June 7 to 8. The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) provided an update to the meeting on the status of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) talks and formal/informal discussions at the level of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) regarding the scope and structure of negotiations, pursuant to the Miami Ministerial mandates.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS ā The 'CARICOM Exploratory Group on CARICOM-Canada Trade Negotiations' met in Barbados, May 28.
The consultation was convened with a view to taking stock of deliberations between CARICOM and Canada on the scope and elements of negotiations for a CARICOM-Canada enhanced trade arrangement. Officials sought to refine positions on areas that would be under negotiation, including Services, Market Access, Agriculture, and Investment.
CARICOM countries have expressed keen interest in provisions for Services in the arrangement. Mr.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS ā The Director-General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM), Ambassador Dr. Richard Bernal, called for an enhancement of the economic partnership between CARICOM and the United States, ābased on interdependence and mutuality of benefitsā. He made these remarks today at a forum organized and hosted by the Inter-American Economic Council (IAEC), in Miami.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS ā CARICOM welcomes elements of a joint letter on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Agenda (DDA), issued by European Commissioners for Trade and Agriculture, Pascal Lamy and Franz Fischler, respectively. This according to the Director-General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM), Ambassador Dr. Richard Bernal. Ambassador Bernal was speaking to members of the international press, in London, May 11, where he is attending the Fourth Meeting of the UK-Caribbean Forum.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) concluded its second free trade agreement with a country in the wider Caribbean with the signature of the CARICOM-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement today in Jamaica. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson on behalf of CARICOM and President Abel Pacheco of Costa Rica signed the Agreement in the presence of a gathering, which included members of the Costa Rican and Jamaican cabinets, private sector representatives of both countries, and the Secretary-General of CARICOM, Mr. Edwin Carrington.